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Conference 2011 OverviewWith the wind-up of the successful 2010 Guelph Organic Conference, we sincerely thank everyone who attended the show. Also, if you visited this Web Site just to learn more about organics, we hope it was useful for your organic farming education and retail product sourcing. LOOKING AHEAD TO THE 2011 EVENT – GENERATION ORGANIC – JANUARY 27-30, 2011 A GENERAL OVERVIEW ON WHAT THE 2011 EVENT IS ALL ABOUT: The Guelph Organic Conference is organized and promoted by a federal non-profit corporation – ‘Organic Food Conferences Canada’ (OFCC) – managed by representatives of 16 public sector, non-profit organic groups (see SPONSORS for listing of these groups). Checking that list, you’ll see these groups as the core promoters of organic agriculture, certification, education, training, public advocacy for organics and funded research into Canadian organic food production systems. The Conference management is in good hands! After a humble launch by a couple of grad students in 1982 as a winter afternoon seminar, the event has made it to its 30th Annual – thus the GENERATION idea ! This entire Conference event runs as a complete 4-day workshop program in the Guelph University Centre (Thursday through Sunday). However, the Trade Expo/Tasting Fair runs ONLY during the final 2 days of the program (that is, Saturday-Sunday). Also, the Expo runs at the same time as the Jan. 29-30/11 workshops, so if you are attending, you’ll have to decide if your main focus is ‘workshops,’ ‘Expo,’ or ‘both.’ This Expo is unique: it is totally free (no charge/walk in the door) because it’s in a public-access building. Important reminder note: there is NO TRADE EXPO on Thursday or Friday. We strongly urge you to check the schedules as published on this Web Site and call the response line if you have even the slightest question as to when you can attend, what you want to attend and what the costs will be. Every year, unfortunately, guests arrive on the Thursday and Friday looking for a Trade Expo which is not running. We have even had unfortunate cases where incoming guests read the wrong year’s Google search page and showed up one week early for the Conference. Sincere regrets, but this is a very involved 4-day event for which you must do some advance planning…. and check the exact schedules before heading out, To repeat: if you have ANY questions about the 4-day workshop program and 2-day Expo, please phone (519) 824-4120 X56205 immediately. Leave a specific message or detailed request, along with your phone # or E-Mail address and we will get back to you to facilitate your attendance at the Conference & Expo/Tasting Fair. Plan to spend several days – because everyone will be at Guelph! Notes about on-line payments (for both exhibitors and guests) Guest workshop PayPal forms will be set up and ready under WORKSHOPS by approx. November 1, 2010. Using that workshop payment form, you can register for all workshops for multiple guests, using your credit card. Workshop participation – what is ‘introductory’ : To reiterate, this entire program is open to everyone who wants to attend, but sometimes you have to go with the flow of an advanced presentation. Suggestion: as a novice sitting through an advanced workshop, •take good notes, •read your 80-page Proceedings booklet carefully and with this knowledge, •plan to ‘gather as much info on this topic as you can.’ If you are unsuccessful at getting your question answered in a particular workshop, write the question down and present it to an Expo exhibitor who will no doubt be happy to spend 20 minutes with you. You will be surprised at the intense and profitable conversations which take place in the Expo. The Guelph Conference is an open forum for learning and we welcome you to the organic marketing sector. Getting more involved in the Conference
Mini-Editorial On The Organic Sector A lot of people have heard about the Guelph Conference but don’t understand the role of this event. First, what it’s not: it’s not a mainstream fair like the Royal Winter Fair, where tens of thousands of consumers and producers gather in a huge hall. So, what is it: a grassroots, regional, mid-winter organic learning experience. Going into its 30th year, this Conference has grown right alongside the organic movement in Canada which traces its start-up to the late 1970′s. For all those interested in how the food marketing sector works, there are virtually 100 shows in Canada that anyone can attend. These range from grocery marketing shows (Grocery Innovations/Toronto-October) to holistic health shows (Whole Life Expo/Toronto-November) to foodservice shows to farmer equipment shows to trade-only organic/natural health product shows. In fact, the Guelph Conference encompasses many or all of these features/focuses. The Guelph Conference, with free public Trade Expo entry and low workshop costs, makes it easy for anyone with a basic motivation in organics to attend and see all of:
PARTICIPATING – The Guelph Conference is for anyone who wants good food As just mentioned, many shows are ‘TRADE-ONLY’ – they are geared only to processors, distributors, retailers, etc. and do not have a public component. That is, they focus strictly on trade sales, but not on consumer education, sampling, networking. But the Guelph Conference & Expo has a wider focus – which takes in both the ‘trade aspect’ (processors selling organic crops and finished products to stores) as well as the ‘consumer aspect’ (presenting these organic products to the consuming public, for purposes of marketing, education and networking). Thus, this event actually has at least 9 different audiences which can and do benefit from attending the Guelph Expo: •Organic producers: certified and transitional producers can network with buyers, sellers, fellow organic producers, suppliers of organic-specific equipment and learn about organic training programs. These growers can also bring samples and try to sign long-term contracts with traders and buyers. •Mainstream or transitional producers: a grower not familiar with organic systems can kick the tires, get introduced to organic certification standards, find out the prices being paid for organic crops so s/he can compare this to ‘commodity’ type prices, get comfortable with the 3-year organic transition to organics and network with all the educational/support/training bodies which guide farmers through transition. •Consumers: many brands sold in organic food stores and supermarkets will be at the Guelph Expo for consumers to taste, discuss, see, touch and buy, right on the show floor. Also, the Conference’s 35-workshop program is one of the best for educating consumers with fresh info. Everyone from “novice” right up to “the consumer ready to buy land and get into organic production on their own” should consider taking in a Guelph workshop. •Retailers: store owners are an increasing component of the Guelph show. Retailers attend to source new organic products and to get these into their stores from the many distributors and brokers who attend the Expo. Retailers also link up with certified growers for future direct supply. •Organic traders & suppliers: these well-developed businesses come to network with their peers, buy and sell crops, services and products, go to private trader-business meetings and to trade-invite hospitality suites. Generally speaking, these trading companies add to the million $ economic aspect of this Conference. •Researchers: this is an ideal spot for organic crop research to be born. One of the event’s sponsoring non-profit organizations (Organic Ag. Centre of Canada) is about to receive a national, multi-million $ organic research co-ordinating grant. Research projects on organic food viability are born at this show. •Media, both mainstream and organic-focused: this is a perfect spot to gather story material, to research stories directly on a first-person basis with the marketers, to line up future advertisers and to get new writers and contributors. The Conference last year ran an Eco-Writer’s Intensive workshop for those wanting to forge a career. •Academics: University staff and graduate students can talk directly with the farmer activists in organic production to get the sense of the sector from which to design new course materials. •Students: both those who are ecologically-inclined and those who have begun to think about organic alternatives. Students can find jobs, get internships, do work-stints, buy and sample products, join the Eco-Scholar program – and in some cases “these students have their life-path changed while here” (Conf. Mgr’s comment: Hey, why not? Get involved… this could be a good career.) •Others: if you are simply an interested individual who has heard about various food claims and who likes to read labels, you can attend the Expo. Nobody will ask you to commit to anything, to sign up for anything, to buy this or that membership, or to wear a button saying “I Grow An Organic Garden.” In other words, we welcome genuinely interested people who want to get the sense of what this is all about, without committing to anything. Actually, this is perfect. Cost: $0, except for maybe a Guelph transit bus token or $1 to hang up your coat. Hoping to see you there ! So to sum up, the Guelph Conference welcomes all interest. Organic is a business where you can be a consumer, producer, researcher, product developer and retailer all at the same time ! That’s organics! PARTING SHOT – AN HISTORICAL PARALLEL At first, when the Conference was getting rolling, 1982-1992, it was a novelty and really was considered as a passing fad by the media. In the next phase – the growth phase, from about 1992-2002, the event represented the increasing strength of organics as an economic reality (Europe, U.S., gaining momentum in Canada). So the sense was that the system was working hard to disprove the viability of the business model even though some big companies were emerging. In the current phase, 2002-2012, ‘organic’ is now a reality (as in the 3rd facet of the above laugh-threaten-join statement by Schopenhauer). Everyone from President’s Choice (TM) to the local farmers’ market has endorsed it. But this success has made it vulnerable. Why – because organic has strict standards… and because the public tends to be swayed by the allure of every inventive claim that a grower or marketer can make to emulate this régime. However, that is one of the Conference’s main jobs – to present authentic, certified organic products from the producer-manufacturer ‘direct to the public.’ The motivated consumer who attends the Guelph show is very aware……. s/he is someone who is smart about all the sub-issues in agriculture (GMO awareness, pesticides, adulteration, claims, environmental sustainability, reading the fine print on labels). This consumer is a loyal user and supporter, willing to spend a little more for a premium organic food product and very supportive of organic farmers wherever they can be met. Many consumers who attend our show also want to get into their own organic production at some point in the future on their own land. That’s why we focus on innovative programs like the New Farmer Training which will guide you into the farming business. Finally, over the last 20 years, i.e. about 2/3 of our “generation,” the consumer has been presented with so many more and new organic product choices, as well as services which didn’t exist before now (on-line sourcing and verification). Through events like The Annual Guelph Conference, consumers’ organic product variety/selection, price and cosmetic appeal has been greatly increased. No doubt, many new products have come out of this show. This is what we work for – organic market development. See you at the end of January for GENERATION ORGANIC ! |
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30th Annual Guelph Organic Conference ©2010 | acc |
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