Organic feed consultation

Options for assisting organic livestock farmers facing financial hardship in the current recession - consultation results and Standards Board decision - March 2009

At the beginning of February we decided to consult you - licensees, Soil Association members and other stakeholders - on the possibility of taking action to assist livestock farmers facing severe financial hardship. The economic recession is affecting demand for organic livestock products and we were being told that some producers were being stretched to the limit by the relatively high cost of organic feed. The full consultation document can be accessed from the bottom of this page.

The consultation

Group	Responses
Licensee	158
Anon	1
SA Member	2
Consultant	2
Groups	2
Research	1
Other	10
Staff	4

The consultation ran from 5 February to 28 February and generated 180 responses; the majority were from Soil Association farmers and growers.

This consultation has generated a huge amount of interest which has been reflected in the level of detail presented in the responses.

The options presented for consideration were:

1. Reject the 'exceptional permission' proposal entirely and do not allow any concessions for any types of farmers;
2. Reject the 'exceptional permission' proposal but allow converting farmers to extend their conversion periods;
3. Allow the 'exceptional permission' proposal with restrictions, such as:
   - only for dairy farmers or only for pig and poultry farmers;
   - only for a restricted period, eg one year;
   - only where the farmers can demonstrate they have no organic market for their products, possibly by working in conjunction with their buyer;
   - only where they can demonstrate severe financial pressure;
   - only where they can demonstrate severe financial pressure and are tied into the OELS (or equivalent)

The results

In particular respondents noted the importance of retaining the integrity of Soil Association standards and expressed concern about the potential for damaging consumer confidence. They also pointed out that what might help livestock farmers could do damage to the organic feed market and the arable farmers who supply it.

The responses have also highlighted that the economic recession has resulted in a reduced demand for organic products and a slow down in the growth of the organic market. This has had a knock on effect on organic livestock producers who have been forced in some cases to reduce the price of stock/products, but this has meant that cost of production can not always be met.

In relation to production costs concern has been expressed mainly over the high animal feed prices. High arable prices last season have pushed up the cost of animal feed this year which is also contributing to the financial pressures on livestock farmers.

A number of key quotes are shown below:

Licensee - "The most important thing is to ensure that consumer confidence does not take another knock."

Animal feed supplier - "Impact on the feed supply trade has not been considered at all in any of the options proposed. The supply chain for organic feed has taken many years of development. Only last winter the feed supply industry was being berated for not having placed enough forward contracts to protect the organic producer from the volatility in the feed market."

Licensee - "Organic sales have plummeted since this time last year, with many consumers trading down to free range from Organic. We are aware of at least one organic pig herd closing down and another one under threat. Action needs to be taken immediately to restore farmers' faith in the viability of organic livestock production for the long-term."

Licensee - "As I see it, having heard both sides of the argument, I believe most sincerely that we the SA should not be following any route such as feed holidays etc."

SA Member - "The single largest factor appears to be the sharp drop in demand for organic produce."

Result overview

The responses have been split into the following categories:

1. To reject the exceptional permission proposal – therefore no change to Soil Association standards
2. Support the exceptional permission proposal
3. Not sure
4. Other – respondent would like action to be taken but has not specified 1 or 2

The figures below summarises the split of the 180 responses. Three quarters of the respondents were opposed to allowing any changes to the standards covering animal feed.

76% reject exceptional permission proposal:
Reject exceptional permission proposal entirely and do not allow any conditions, or reject exceptional permissions proposal but allow converting farmers to extend their conversion periods.

10% support exceptional permission proposal:
Allow exceptional permission with restrictions

In the 'Other' option (4%), people want action to be taken but they didn't specify either support or reject.

10% of respondents were not sure.

Standards Board decision

The results have been presented to the Soil Association's independent Standards Board who very much shared the sentiments expressed by the majority of respondents, being particularly concerned about integrity and consumer confidence.. The Board therefore decided against making any changes to the standards. All food certified by the Soil Association and sold as organic will continue to be produced under full organic standards.

Anna Bradley, chair of the Soil Association Standards Board, said:
"The Board agreed that making ad hoc changes of this sort would damage the integrity of the standards and could rock consumer confidence. Consumers expect 'Soil Association Organic' to stand for the highest quality in organic food and that is a reputation the Standards Board wants to retain."

As is already the case, farmers coming to the end of their two-year conversion period to organic farming will be able to extend their conversion period with prior agreement from their certifier, if they are not able to market their livestock products as organic. This is not change in the standards.

The Soil Association would like to thank all those who responded to the consultation.