Source Notes and Methodology

All numbers presented in the Data Portal are best estimates using available data. Data has been rounded, and so some totals may not be equal to the sum of the sub-categories.

Agricorp Data

In 2019, the Organic Council of Ontario began collecting yield data from Agricorp’s organic crop insurance programs for organic soybeans, winter wheat, corn and spelt. Average yields are based on the fully reported yields of the growers who have registered for those programs, and do not represent the average yields for all organic producers in Ontario. The yield data in the Grains and Oilseeds Report comes from a custom tabulation from Agricorp for the Organic Council of Ontario.

A. Macey and Canadian Organic Growers

National operator and acreage data from 2003-2013 was collected and analyzed by Anne Macey and the Canadian Organic Growers from Canadian certifying bodies, and provided to OCO as a custom tabulation. Data for organic operators from before 2009 included operators who were certified to the US National Organic Program.

Canada Organic Trade Association

National operator and acreage data from 2014 onwards has been collected and analyzed by the Canada Organic Trade Association. Data is sourced from Canadian certifying bodies, and is published annually in their By the Numbers report series. In 2015, the Canada Organic Trade Association began tracking the number of livestock producers. Some producers may be producing both livestock and crops. Land use is measured in acres and data is for certified operations and acreage only.

Certification Body Data

Since 2017, the Organic Council of Ontario has worked with certifying bodies in Ontario to collect operator information for our Ontario Organic Directory. Some of the charts in the Ontario Organic Agriculture Summary report contain aggregated data from the Directory.

In 2019, we began collecting aggregated acreage data from the certifying bodies, including Ecocert, Pro-Cert, CSI and OCIA. This data was aggregated and analyzed by the Organic Council of Ontario. We would like to thank the certification bodies for their collaboration with us on this project.

There are ongoing challenges when it comes to tracking organic acreage and categorizing certain crops (for example, to understand the number of productive acres for food vs feed vs cover crop, because in many instances cover crops can also function as grazing crops and are being used for more than one purpose). Each certifying body has their own collection and tracking methods, which use a combination of producer reported acres (as part of the Organic System Plan) as well as inspector-recorded acres planted. OCO continues to work closely with the certifying bodies to understand their data collection methods and to share aggregated data about the sector.

OrganicBiz Data

The Organic Council of Ontario has compiled pricing data which has been collected by OrganicBiz from Ontario grain buyers on a monthly basis. Where available, prices are listed with a high, low, and average. Data points were not available for all months or at regular intervals. The most consistently reported crop prices are for soybeans (feed) and corn.

This is a free service provided by OrganicBiz. There is currently no comprehensive Ontario organic grain pricing survey. If you are a grain operator who is interested in this data, please contact us.

Statistics Canada Data

Census of Agriculture

The Census of Agriculture is conducted every five years for all farms across Canada. Data on organic farms has been collected in the Census of Agriculture since 2001. The 2016 Census of Agriculture asked: “Does this operation produce any organic products for sale?” and “What is the status of organic products in 2016, organic or transitional?”

Farm operations may report both certified and transitional statuses, and the number of farms reporting organic includes both certified and transitional statuses. Therefore, the aggregate data on organic farms in the Census of Agriculture represents the maximum threshold (i.e., using the 100% organic assumption).

The Census of Agriculture does not collect data on organic farm financials, price, yield and acreage. However, the Census of Agriculture does collect data related to farm type, gross farm income, and net operating income. The data reported on these items in the portal was obtained through a custom tabulation from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. A few important notes related to this data:

Farm type is established through a procedure that classifies each census farm according to the predominant type of production. This is done by estimating the potential receipts from the inventories of crops and livestock reported on the questionnaire and determining the product or group of products that make up the majority of the estimated receipts. For example, a census farm with total potential receipts of 60% from hogs, 20% from beef cattle and 20% from wheat, would be classified as a hog and pig farm. The farm types presented are based on the 2012 North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS).
Total gross farm receipts excludes sales of forest products, and are from the calendar year prior to the census or for the last complete accounting (fiscal) year prior to the census (in this case, 2015). Gross farm receipts for farms reporting organic products may include organic, transitional, and non-organic product sales. Sales reported by farm type are total sales for that farm and may include other crop or animal types in addition to the predominant type.

Field Crops Survey

Statistics Canada collects total field crop acreage in their Field Crop Reporting Series which collects data five times per year. Data included in the chart “Provincial Share of Canada's Organic and Non-Organic Field Crops by Acreage” in the Grains and Oilseeds Report includes a comparison of Statistics Canada field crop acreage (seeded area in acres) with organic field crop acreage totals from the Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA). Please note that this chart represents data from two different sources and collection methods. However, in the absence of a unified collection method of both organic and non-organic data, this is the best available way to show organic as a share of total field crop acreage.

Statistics Canada. Table 32-10-0359-01. Estimated areas, yield, production, average farm price and total farm value of principal field crops, in metric and imperial units.

Fruit and Vegetable Survey

Statistics Canada collects total fruit and vegetable acreage in their annual Fruit and Vegetable Survey. In the Fruits and Vegetables Report, we compare data from the Statistics Canada Fruit and Vegetable Survey with data from the Canada Organic Trade Association (for province-wide comparison) as well as data that the Organic Council of Ontario collected from the certification bodies. The acreage data from the Fruit and Vegetable Survey includes area planted (acres) for fruits, vegetables (including potatoes). Please note that these charts represent data from two different sources and collection methods. However, in the absence of a unified collection method of both organic and non-organic data, this is the best available way to show organic as a share of total fruit and vegetable crop acreage.

Statistics Canada. Table: 32-10-0358-01. Area, production and farm value of potatoes.

Statistics Canada. Table 32-10-0364-01. Area, production and farm gate value of marketed fruits.

Statistics Canada. Table 32-10-0365-01. Area, production and farm gate value of marketed vegetables.

Questions?

If you have any questions or feedback about the data portal, including any further data that you are interested in, please contact us.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to all those who gave their time and insight to this project, including but not limited to: Robert Wallbridge, Hugh Martin, Joel Aitken, Andrew St. Jean, Geoff Smith, Laura Telford, Norm Hansen, and Daniel Liadsky. We would also like to thank members of the Organic Value Chain Roundtable Task Force on Organic Data for their advice and support. We are grateful for the support of members of the Statistics Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada teams in efforts to collect more organic data, including but not limited to Adam Cull, Angela Chen, Jean-Francois Frenette, and Martin Beaulieu.

We would also like to thank the organic certification bodies who provided acreage and operator data used extensively in this analysis: Ecocert Canada, Pro-Cert Organic, OCIA, and CSI.

This project was funded in part through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (the Partnership), a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.