This just out from Organic Business News…
The explosion of record high prices on the conventional has pushed the organic sector even higher and the fallout is already happening—organic bakers are pulling out.
“The whole thing is chaos,” said Bob Quinn, who runs the Kamut Association, which is based in Big Sandy MT. “It is so extremely out of control, I don’t know how it is going to play out.” Farmers under contract to plant organic Kamut, a high protein hard red spring wheat, will plant 60,000 acres in Montana and Canada this year.
In trading at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, hard red spring wheat closed at a record $24 a bushel Feb. 27. The asking price for organic hard spring wheat has now soared to between $30 and $36 a bushel.
“Prices like that are sustainable,” said Travis Sitter, a buyer for Hesco in Watertown, SD. He said some organic cattle and dairy farmers can no longer afford the high price of organic soybean and corn meal, and are switching back to conventional. Bakers are already up in arms and planning a March 12 “Crisis” March on Washington, DC where they will meet congressmen and USDA officials.
“Commodity prices for every item we use are out of control and rising faster than we could ever hope to catch them,” said Michael Kalupa, president of the Retail Bakers of America. “If there is not some type of relief, many businesses will fail.” Ben Volk with Dakota Organic Prairie Flour in Harvey, ND said two east coast bakeries that were buying organic flour switched back to conventional.
What worries Ron Schlecht, a buyer for SK Foods International in Fargo, ND, is that expanded spring planting of hard red spring wheat will prevent farmers from growing other crops such as edible beans. “I don’t know if we can get any flax,” he said. He said one wheat processor told him he did not have conventional grain seed for his customers. Schlect and others said that most organic farmers have set aside enough organic seed for this year’s planting. They all expect more acreage to be planted both in the US and Canada.
Lynn Clarkson, who heads Clarkson Grain in Cerro Gordo, IL, blames the burst in commodity prices on ethanol. He said that subsidies totaling 40% on corn and processing have thrown everything else off. “Land values are going up and the biggest hedge funds are dumping funds into the commodities market,” Clarkson said.
For more information on the March 12 Crisis March on Washington, visit OBN’s Breaking News page: www.obn.hotlineprinting.com.
