UPDATED – April 13, 2023, to include comments from Nature’s Path
In 2018, Nature’s Path, a Vancouver company that makes and markets cereal, granola, oatmeal, waffles and other foods, bought about 5,000 acres of land near Kamsack, Sask.
The owner of Nature’s Path, Arran Stephens, said the firm wanted to produce some of the ingredients for its brands.
Nature’s Path “is conscious of the fact that the average North American organic grain farmer is approaching 60-plus years of age. As these individuals begin to think about retirement, we must think about the organic supply chain,” he told the Western Producer in 2018.
The operation near Kamsack was known as Legend Organic Farms. It produced crops until last fall, when Nature’s Path sold the land.
In March, Nature’s Path liquidated the remaining farm assets. The organic food company sold the tractors, combines, trucks and other farm equipment in an auction.
“Legend Organic Farms Ltd. has decided to sell all of their farming inventory by unreserved auction,” McDougall Auction says on its website.
“This well-maintained complete farm equipment dispersal will be ready to go to work for the spring planting season. All equipment will be sold to the highest bidder closing online March 15, 2023.”
In an email, Nature’s Path said the sale was a strategic decision to focus on its core business — manufacturing and marketing organic food.
“We are more committed than ever to our’ always organic’ promise and have incredible organic farmers we continue to work with,” the email said.
“Even with the sale of Legend Farm, we are able to meet the growing demand for organic products and continue to source much of our organic grains … from the Canadian Prairie and the U.S. Midwest.”
Legend Organic Farms was one of the first farms in Canada certified as regenerative organic, a standard that combines organic agriculture’s no-pesticides, no-fertilizer and no-GMO approach with cover crops, reduced tillage and other practices of regenerative production.
Last spring, Nature’s Path announced funding for its Regenerative Organic Oats program to help organic farmers move to regenerative organic.
“Nature’s Path remains committed to supporting and investing in regenerative organic agriculture and continue to invest as our partnership with the Canadian Organic Growers and the Regenerative Organic Oats program,” the company said in an email.
“The program offers hands-on training and support to organic farmers seeking to transition to regenerative practices and will help lead the way towards the adoption of regenerative organic practices throughout the sector.”
Running an organic farm with minimal tillage and meeting the other requirements of the regenerative organic standard is more difficult than a regular organic farm.
But Allison Squires, president of Canadian Organic Growers and owner of Upland Organics near Wood Mountain, Sask., says demand for regenerative-organic grain is strong.
“We’ve really seen our market, with the additional certification, increase significantly,” she said, adding that Upland Organics was certified as regenerative organic in 2021.
“We’re being approached by buyers who are specifically interested in this level of certification.”
Much of the demand is coming from the United States, but some Canadian companies also want grains and oilseeds with the regenerative organic certification.
There isn’t a guaranteed premium over organic wheat, oats and other grains, but in most cases the buyer and farmer do negotiate a higher price.
The standard is still relatively new — a group of farmers and industry leaders in the U.S. created it in 2017.
However, Squires said it is attracting more farmers.
“There are many more farms in Canada, certified regen organic than there were two years ago.”
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