Attend OCO’s 2018 AGM & Policy Forum

Join the Organic Council of Ontario to celebrate the 2018 Annual General Meeting & Policy Forum on April 13th at the Country Heritage Park in Milton Ontario.

We would like to invite OCO members and the general public to participate in a day of informative presentations, sessions, an exciting tour of the park, and a delicious local organic tasting experience!

Organic Policy Forum

We've planned a series of engaging and informative sessions featuring  informed members of the Ontario Organic community! You're welcome to attend the whole day, just the AGM (please note that the AGM portion of the day is free for all OCO members). See agenda for speaker details.

Enjoy a Local Organic Tasting Experience

Join us for a series of seasonal taste sensations, featuring local chefs and food businesses! The whole day is open to the public, but we especially encourage you to invite your organic-minded friends and guests to attend the local organic tasting experience taking place from 6:00pm-8:30pm.

Venue & Directions

The event will be held in the Gambrel Barn at Country Heritage Park in Milton. For directions, please visit the venue website.

Be sure to enter via the clearly marked Visitor Entrance, and use the visitor parking lot. There will be directional signage from the visitor parking lot to the Gambrel Barn, which is also clearly marked.

Draft Agenda

8:30 AM- Registration & Coffee

8:55 AM- Policy Forum: Opening Remarks

9:00 AM- The Future of Soil Health: What is the Role of Organic Agriculture?

• Ruth Knight - Agronomist & Organic Consultant
• Thorsten Arnold - Analyst, Grey Bruce Centre for Agroecology
• Ralph Martin - Professor, Ontario Agriculture College, Department of Plant Agriculture
• Owen Goltz - Riverdale Farm and Forest

10:00 AM- What Retailers Want: Organic Demand from the Retailers' Perspective

• Cameron Dale - Public Markets Manager, Evergreen
• Dave Meli - Head Butcher, The Healthy Butcher
• Emmalea Davis - Mama Earth Organics Inc.

11:00 AM- Break

11:15 AM- Break Out Sessions:

• Grow Ontario Organic Checkoff: Next Steps in Making Stable Organic Funding a Reality
• Hydroponics: A Soiled Reputation?
  • Niki Bennett - Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers
  • Marco De Leonardis - Freeman Herbs
  • Ian Adamson - Greenbelt Microgreens
  • Brandon Hebor - Ripple Farms

12:15 PM- Lunch & Speaker Session: Financing Organic Growth

• Lars Boggild - Vancity Community Investment Bank
• Sally Miller - Local Food & Farm Co-ops
• Anahita Belanger - Belanger Organic Farms

1:15 PM- AGM: Report on Finances, Update on Activities: Board Nominations

2:30 PM- Break Out Sessions:

• Where's the Beef? Addressing the Lack of Organic Abattoirs
  • Joel Aitken - Inspector Manager, Ecocert & Organic Consultant, Local Food Finder
  • Dave Meli - Head Butcher, The Healthy Butcher
  • Ted Zettel - Zettel Family Farms
  • James Sculthorpe - Yorkshire Valley Farms
• Foodland Ontario Organic: How to Promote Local Organic
  • Barbara Smith - Supervisor, Retail Services, Regional Economic Development Branch, OMAFRA

3:30 PM- Break

3:45 PM- Ontario Organic Regulation and Small-Scale Supports - OCO Staff

4:30 PM- MPP Panel: What Will Your Party Do For Organic?

• Syliva Jones, PC (Dufferin-Caloden)
• Mike Schreiner, Green Party of Ontario

5:00 PM- Closing Remarks

6:15 PM- Local Organic Tasting Experience!

8:30 PM- Wrap-Up