organicNEWS - Scottish Organic Producers Association

organicNEWS
March 2013
Image courtesy of Ian Hunter from SOPA members Bruce and Gordon McConachie, Grantown-on-Spey
The past few weeks I have felt a rant brewing…..
Horsegate makes a mockery of the cost and effort in food assurance
and traceability demanded of the UK supply chain.
For too many years consumers have been persuaded to take the lazy
and cheap route to feeding our families. Convenience food is now the
dominant culture the nation feeds itself with.
How many of us feel we have been conned by food advertising? In all
of this fancy talk we have lost sight of the true victim – consumer trust.
It all amounts to deception, and all in the name of cheap food. But is it
cheap? What profits do food conglomerates post each year? These
profits come from our pockets. It is the consumer pound that drives
supply chain decisions in a Convenience food culture.
Was there ever a better time to shop more intelligently, take back
control of our spending power and seek out legally enforced labelling
with genuine provenance.
Index
Page
Certification Corner 2
Fasciola hepatica 3-4
Organic retailing thoughts 5
Organic red meat in the retail
market
Organic Beef Retail 7
Organic Lamb Retail 8
Organic Fresh Meat Volume and
Spend
Organic Shopper behaviour 10
Farming Awards to enter 11
Diary and Classifieds 12
6
9
It is but a simple act to spend our precious money on food that
deserves it. So I urge you to have a discerning wallet, oh, and steer
clear of terrible horse jokes.
Debs

CERTIFICATION CORNER—Producer Members
ORGANIC MILKING
COWS AND SHEEP
Some of the veterinary licenses for
flukicides have changed recently.
The situation is becoming more
complex for milk producers.
We recommend that organic dairies
milking cows (or sheep) contact your
vet to discuss options for treating
liver fluke.
See page 4 and 5 for more
information on liver fluke.
Dealing with non-compliances
When a non-compliance is raised at inspection or audit, this is
what you are required to do:
1 - You have 30 days from the date of your INSPECTION to submit
satisfactory corrective action to the SFQC/SOPA office to address
any non-compliances raised. Following your inspection the office
will send out a courtesy letter confirming the non-compliance and
to remind you of the non-compliance(s) raised and the deadline
for corrective action.
2 - If we do not hear from you within 30 days, a FINAL REMINDER
letter will be sent to you. This letter will remind you that
corrective action is still outstanding giving you a further 5 days to
submit the relevant information required.
3 - Failure to submit corrective action after the additional 5 days
are offered will result in the SUSPENSION of your certificate. You
will not be able to sell any organic produce until satisfactory
corrective action is received and approved by the certification
team.
Please ensure at the time of your inspection you ask your inspector
for clarification if you are unsure of the details of any noncompliance
that is raised. Alternatively following your inspection
if you still have queries please contact the office within the 30 day
timescale to discuss further. Please do not ignore any noncompliances
that are raised as we have no option other than to
suspend your certificate if appropriate corrective action is not
received within the timescale detailed above.
Seed Derogations—Another reminder
Download derogation forms from www.sopa.org.uk/members/downloads (you will need to log in to your
SOPA account to access these)
Single Variety seeds
PRIOR TO PURCHASE
Seed mixes
(derogation required for the non-organic allowance in the mix)
PRIOR TO SOWING
Contacting the Office—0131 335 6606
If automated call directs irritate you, call us direct on 0131 335 6606.
This number will take you straight to the SOPA team in the SFQC office.
We like email too!
info@sopa.org.uk
2

Time to address your Fasciola hepatica plan
As we approach spring turnout in the next month or
so, the SOPA TAC (Technical Advisory Committee)
have asked that I remind organic livestock producers
about liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) management.
Managing Liver fluke in organic systems is something
the Organic Monitor Farm Community Group have
been discussing. The big challenge is treating organic
stock during the fattening period and meeting the
required withdrawal period.
It’s ok to treat for fluke
The majority of SOPA livestock management plans we
see in the office have a fluke management
programme so SOPA members should have no
reluctance to use appropriate flukicides if animals are
infected.
How do you know if you have fluke?
Always ask the abattoir for a liver report. However,
be aware that this report will only tell you if there is
fluke damage to the liver—it will not specify if the
damage is from active (alive) fluke, or if it is scarring
from historic infection. The important thing is to find
out if the animal had live fluke damage because you
can use this evidence to treat the rest of the herd/
flock.
You can test dung for fluke eggs but due to the fluke
life cycle (see below), regular tests will be necessary
over a period of 1-3 weeks. The animal will shed fluke
eggs for only 2 weeks so regular sampling helps
gather accurate evidence.
Moredun Institute are trialling blood test for fluke
infection—these hope to be more accurate than
current testing regimes and if successful will certainly
help accurate diagnosis, and by inference accurate
treatment.
Ask your Vet
Your vet should be able to help you devise a
programme to treat infected animals. You should
then record this programme in your SOPA Livestock
Management Plan, and remember the office will need
to approve any changes. Just email it in to
info@sopa.org.uk. If re-infection is a threat, all stock
will probably have to be treated. Different products
treat different stages of the fluke and it is important
to avoid overuse that may lead to product resistance
or misuse (see over). We understand that fluke has
become prevalent throughout all of Scotland in recent
years and with the ill-effects on animal health and
welfare there is really no excuse not to treat.
THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE LIVER FLUKE
2 weeks
24 hours
4-8 weeks
3 days
6 months
Day 1
Day 15
Day 16
Day 44-72
Day 73-76
Day 77-257
Eggs secreted in dung to external environment
Eggs hatch and must find secondary host (mud snail)
First larval stage infiltrate mud snail
Larvae excreted from snail
Larval attach to blade of grass and build a protective cyst
Grass eaten; animal ingests the cyst
A mature
fluke is flat
and no larger
than a penny
24 hours Day 258
3 days Day 258-261
6-8 weeks Day 303-317
Immature fluke emerges from cyst and travel into animal intestine
Immature fluke burrows from intestine into animal liver
Fluke penetrates and infects liver until mature
3

Managing Fasciola hepatica on organic farms
The SOPA standards require double the withdrawal period
The following table shows some of the products available on the market that can be used to treat fluke.
Please note this list is not exhaustive, there are other products available to help avoid resistance but check
with your vet first and ensure your SOPA Livestock Management Plan is approved by the SFQC office.
FLUKICIDES ONLY Owned by Active ingredients Treat for
Organic withdrawal
period
Species
Fasinex 5%
Fasinex 10%
Flukiver
Trodax 34%
Novartis Animal
Health UK Ltd
Novartis Animal
Health UK Ltd
Elanco Animal
Health
Merial Animal
Health Ltd
5% w/v triclabendazole
10% w/v triclabendazole
5% w/v closantel
34% w/v nitroxynil
Tribex 5% Chanelle Vet UK Triclabendazole
liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica)
112 Sheep
liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica)
112 Cattle
chronic & sub-acute
fascioliasis
84 Sheep
mature & immature
Fasciola hepatica
120
98
Cattle
Sheep
Early immature, immature
and adult fluke
112 sheep
COMBINED FLUKE &
WORMERS
Owned by Active ingredients Treat for
Organic withdrawal
period
Species
Combinex Cattle
Novartis Animal
Health UK Ltd
7.5% w/v levamisole
hydrochloride & 12%
w/v triclabendazole
parasitic bronchitis,
parasitic gastroenteritis
& fasciolosis
112 Cattle
Combinex Sheep
Novartis Animal
Health UK Ltd
3.75% w/v levamisole
hydrochloride & 5%
w/v triclabendazole
parasitic bronchitis,
parasitic gastroenteritis
& fasciolosis
112 Sheep
Flukiver
Elanco Animal
Health
closantel 5% w/v
fascioliasis (due to Fasciola
hepatica), Sheep
Nasal Bot Fly (Oestrus
ovis) & Barber Pole
worm (Haemonchus
contortus)
84 Sheep
Albex 10%
Chanelle Vet UK
Ltd
Albendazole 10% w/v
Roundworm, lungworm,
tapeworm, adult fluke
also worm and fluke
eggs
28
10
Cattle
Sheep
Check each product is suitable for the species and remember that justification will be required for combined
products (faecal egg count for worms).
Top Tips
The egg can survive on
vegetation for months if the
environment is suitable i.e. wet,
light and acidic—to—normal pH
ie rushy pasture
Mature fluke will live for
up to 12 weeks in the liver
of an animal and can lay
eggs from 8 weeks
www.noahcompendium.co.uk
Is an extremely useful resource for all
vetmeds—persevere with the website
as navigation is not the simplest
4

Retailing organic –some thoughts for 2013
The following article is written by Vanessa Henry,
Shopper Insight Manager at IGD.
You can find out more at w.igd.com/our-expertise/Shopper-Insight/ethicsand-health/12470/Three-tips-to-help-you-enhance-the-popularity-of-yourorganic-food-ranges/
The last few years have brought challenging times for
Three tips to help you
enhance the retail
popularity of organic food
some shoppers and economic concerns are beginning
to have an impact on ethical shopping. Although sales
of most ethical products held up well in the early
stages of the recession, such an extended squeeze on
household finances is inevitably taking its toll. But it’s
not all doom and gloom; if your company has a stake
in the organic food market, these three tips are
designed to help you use shopper behaviour to your
advantage.
1. Inspire loyalty
When households are under pressure and
focused on making their money go further, it is
more challenging to entice uncommitted
shoppers with organic ranges. However, IGD
Shopper Research (Based on ShopperVista research
carried out in October 2012) shows that there is
still a substantial group, more than one in seven
shoppers (15%), claiming to be loyal to organic
food.
Tip: There remains an opportunity to build your
custom with these loyal shoppers by continuing to
invest in organic ranges and expanding their appeal. If
others are putting less investment into organic then
your innovative products will stand out.
2. Be Natural
According to IGD research, the ‘natural’
benefits are the top reason for choosing organic
products - it ranks highest for both those who
have purchased organic foods in the last month
and those who haven’t.
Tip: Companies can succeed by being creative in
communicating their natural credentials with shoppers
– the Yeo Valley ‘rapping farmers’ campaign
showed that being entertaining rather than earnest
can spread the appeal. Mainstream food advertising is
concentrated around price and functionality, so
organic products can stand out by taking a different
line. Linking together various benefits from organic
food in new and imaginative ways could be highly
5
effective.
3. Value-added benefits
Beyond the loyal followers, there’s another
substantial group of shoppers to target. One
in ten (11%) say they will come back to
organic foods when they have a bit more
money. Another 9% are focusing their organic
purchases on a few products.
Tip: Although most shoppers’ ethical aspirations are
not dented during a recession, their ability to pay
can be. For this price conscious group, the priority is
to reinforce the value of your products by better
showcasing the benefits from spending a relatively
small amount extra.

Organic Red Meat Retail Sales Data
The following retail sales data (© Kantar Worldpanel 2013) was presented at the annual SAC Consulting Organic
Prospects conference on 31st January 2013. The information complements the production data published in
the Organic Market Link Annual Organic Producer Survey 2012-2013 by Caroline Shahin of SAC Consulting. It is
a rare exclusive that we are able to access data of this quality and accuracy so hopefully you will find it of
value.
The data is extracted from retail sales from 2011 to 2012 for the main UK multiple retailers (supermarkets).
Of key note is that despite challenging market conditions organic red meat sales continue to perform. There
is clearly consumer demand for organic red meat and in pure economic terms demand is out-stripping supply
as the premia demonstrate. Imports are not affecting the organic market at the current time. Farm gate
prices for beef are at an all time record high of 440-450 ppkgdw, with a premium of 65 pence or more.
Organic lamb has been slow to shift off farm in the past two months but prices have maintained a premium.
There has been a lot of uncertainty in the meat processing sector in the past few months that will have
affected procurement.
UK Organic Beef Retail Sales
9,000
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2011 2012
Volume (000 Kgs)
Spend Share (£%)
Expenditure
(£000s)

Organic Red Meat Retail Sales Data—BEEF
Retail Measure of Organic Beef Cuts
Organic Prospects, 31st January
2013
© Kantar Worldpanel
Note the growth in volume sales of beef joints and diced/stewing, driven by the reduced price. This will be
perceived as ‘better value’ by the consumer, so more is sold.
UK Retailer Performance on
Organic Beef
Organic Prospects, 31st January
2013
© Kantar Worldpanel
Note the dramatic growth in Sainsbury's who have extended their lead in organic beef sales by nearly 10% of the
market share. Morrisons and the Co-op are negligible players in the organic beef market (no surprise) but the fall
in Waitrose share is one to watch. Asda’s loss of market share will be due to their shopper demographic —those
seeking value in tight economic times.
7

Organic Red Meat Retail Sales Data—LAMB
Retail Measure of Organic Lamb Cuts
Organic Prospects, 31st January
2013
© Kantar Worldpanel
Note the increase in price for lamb joints seems to be reducing the volume sold per shopping trip. Lamb
mince is performing well and a fall in price of steak has seen an increase in sales, but not for chops. There is
no market for diced or stewing lamb.
UK Retailer Performance on
Organic Lamb
Organic Prospects, 31st January
2013
© Kantar Worldpanel
Like beef, Sainsbury’s have taken a strong lead in 2012. This lead is at the expense of competitor retailers so
Sainsbury's appear to be gaining customers and managing to convince the new customers to spend on organic
lamb. Waitrose has a stronger market share of organic lamb (down ~2% to ~18% in 2012) than organic beef
(down ~5% to 10% in 2012, see page 7).
8

Organic Red Meat Retail Volume and Spend
These graphs show
organic fresh meat sales
in the years 2011 and
2012. Kantar Worldpanel
produce this data
from the 5 main UK
multiple retailers
(Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda,
Marks and Spencer,
Waitrose).
Organic beef sales make
up around 75% of all
fresh organic meat sales
in the multiple retailers.
Organic lamb sales are
20% of the total volume
of organic fresh meat
sold and pork and other
meats around 5%.
UK Retail Volume Share – Organic
Fresh Meat
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
7.7 7.1 6.1 5.7 5.6 5.4 4.5 3.8
18.4 21.6
19.5 18.3 18.2 20.5
72.7 70.9 74.2 75.3 75.2 73.5
16.2 20.2
78.4 75.7
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2011 2012
Other
Fresh Pork
Fresh Lamb
Fresh Beef
© Kantar Worldpanel
Again, this graph is
produced by Kantar
Worldpanel and shows
the sales value of fresh
organic meat sales in the
UK multiples, during
2011 and 2012.
The amount of money
spent on organic lamb
peaked at 24.4% of
organic fresh meat sales
in Quarter 3 of 2011,
closely followed by
another good
performance in Q4 of
2012 (23.5%)
More money was spent
on organic beef (74.9% of
organic fresh meat sales)
in Q3 of 2012 than any
other quarter in the two
year period shown.
UK Retail Spend Share – Organic
Fresh Meat
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
7.1 7.5 6.7 5.5 5.2 5.4 4.7 3.6
21.5 23.4 24.4 23.2 21.3 23.3
70.6 68.7 68.8 70.8 72.8 71
20 23.5
74.9 72.7
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2011 2012
Other
Fresh Pork
Fresh Lamb
Fresh Beef
© Kantar Worldpanel
9

Organic Shopper Behaviour
Recent consumer behaviour research (©IGD ShopperVista 2012) shows that one in four consumers will
remain loyal to buying organic food. Animal welfare, rather than being green, is now more important to
shoppers than three years ago. The ‘natural’ image is still the key driver for organic purchases.
More people are interested
in organic food now than
they were 3 years ago (41%
of people surveyed in 2009
said they were not
interested in organic food, in
2012 this figure had gone
down to 37%). Clearly still
some work to do.
Anecdotal evidence tells us that
free range has been a strong winner
against organic sales in supermarkets—particularly
eggs, table
birds and bacon. Price has a major
impact—people believe that
buying free range is much
cheaper and as good as organic
8% of shoppers surveyed have
lost faith in what they thought
organic stood for— but this
figure has been static over the
past three years. As an
industry, we need to ask why
they have lost their trust in the
label and how we can change
their mind
Summary:
UK consumers are animal-lovers.
High welfare products are a growth
area and it is vital to reinforce these
quality credentials in marketing messages.
Organic businesses may notice
the closing gap between organic and
free range. Free range has closed the
perception gap to animal welfare in
organic production and has done a
good job at building a culture of high
animal welfare in the consumer’s
mind.
15% will continue to buy organic
food and 11% will buy more
organic food when their income
improves, so we need to
promote to this group how
organic food prices are not
always more expensive and
careful scrutiny of supermarket
shelves reveals the same price
for some organic foods as the
non organic equivalent.
There is a strong perception that
the UK has higher welfare
standards than any other
country. This indicates a
national pride factor as well as a
boost to local food sales where
provenance and traceability are
important to consumers.
Animal welfare is still a major
driver for consumer purchases.
More than one in four shoppers
will try and buy high animal
welfare including free range.
The media are strong
influencers on shopper
behaviour—especially the
rise of tv chefs and
cooking programmes
where a particular product
is featured. If a programme
shows intensive
chicken rearing it will drive
up sales of extensive, free
range and organic.
10

FARMING AWARDS 2013 —NOMINATE NOW
Nominations and applications for the Future Farming
Award are being encouraged as the 2013 Award
searches for the best in Scottish agriculture.
Seeking innovation within Scottish farming and crofting, this
accolade rewards the individual or partnership that can
demonstrate an outstanding contribution to rural industry.
The Award aims to showcase ways in which Scotland can produce
food, fibre and wood products from farms and crofts in a
commercially viable way while maintaining the natural capital of the
land and minimizing the ecological footprint of farming activities.
The judges are looking for anything which represents new or
innovative ideas within farming. Interested parties should visit
www.futurefarmingaward.co.uk for information on how to apply.
The closing date for applications is Friday 22 March.
The Farmers Weekly Awards recognise and reward farmers for innovation,
commitment to the industry and hard work.
www.farmersweeklyawards.co.uk
Five reasons to enter or nominate someone
Recognition for you, your family and your team, and your sector
Opens doors to new industry contacts, clients and supplier deals
Valuable PR and marketing for your business
Greater business confidence and negotiating power
The chance to experience the best night out in farming for you and your partner
Farmer of the Year Categories include Arable, Beef, Contractor, Countryside, Dairy, Diversification,
Farm advisor, Farm manager, Farm worker, Green energy, Local food, Pig, Poultry, Sheep, Young
Entries close 30th April 2013– nomination and entry forms online
25 TH ANNIVERSARY FOR SCOTTISH EGG QUALITY AWARDS
This year marks the 25 th anniversary of the
Scottish Egg Quality Awards competition and
the organisers, BOCM PAULS and Scotland’s Rural
College (SRUC) intend to mark this milestone
competition with a special awards presentation
ceremony at the Huntingtower Hotel, Perth on
Thursday 23 rd May. The competition is aimed at
encouraging the pursuit of excellence in egg quality,
to provide benchmark standards of quality that are
both realistic and achievable and to recognise the
highest quality and consistency standards achieved by
successful entrants. Eggs will be collected in late
11
March and taken to SRUC Auchincruive for testing
and assessment. Scotland’s Rural College carries out
quality assessments on eight key parameters: shell
colour, egg weight, yolk colour, albumen quality, shell
thickness, freedom from meat and blood spots,
external appearance and packaging.
Further information from: Iain Campbell, BOCM
PAULS: 07803 286724 or Nick Sparks, SRUC: 01292
525100

ORGANIC CLASSIFIEDS
DIARY DATES
All of the Classifieds are also published on the SOPA website http://www.sopa.org.uk/classifieds and added to
the SOPA Organic Commodity Register. Please contact the advertiser direct and ALWAYS ask for the organic
certificate.
WANTED
Approx 8 tonnes of Organic Feeding Barley required
Please contact Alaster on 07515 280036
Organic malting barley: a steady supply throughout
2013 is required near Inverness. Telephone 01463
811 118
Summer grazing
Organic summer grazing for approx. 150 ewes with
lambs. Central Borders area. Well fenced with
adequate water supply Telephone. 01896 860 244
(Bergius, SOPA 452)
Organic store cattle and sheep
Required for summer grazing and foggage in
Aberdeenshire. Contact Brian Anderson (SOPA 1174)
07967677464
FOR SALE
Organic Grazing, Summer 2013
35 acres organic grass available to rent for grazing
or cropping, Aberdeenshire. Contact Alex McLean-
Bullen (SOPA 066) tel 07831 782 917
Organic Hay for sale
Approx 30 Organic Round bales hay for sale,
Aberdeenshire. Contact Alex McLean-Bullen (SOPA
066) tel 07831 782 917
Wiltshire Horn ewes with lambs at foot
22 organic Wiltshire Horn ewes with lambs at foot.
Wool-less "easy care" type sheep. Ease of lambing,
docile, good mothers. Strong lambs born 1st week
of Feb. Will sell as a whole or in smaller numbers.
Tups also available. Call David on 07515264094
(SOPA 296)
HUNTLY MART
The Annual Spring Sale of Organic Store
Cattle will be held on Thursday April 18th @
10 am
For further details contact
Douglas Guild
United Auctions
Huntly Auction Mart
HUNTLY
AB54 4QU
Tel: +44 (0) 1466 792148
Fax: +44 (0) 1466 794550
Mob: +44 (0) 7764 464371
DUMFRIES MART
Spring Sale of Organic cattle on Monday
15th April, 10.30am
For Further details contact
Dumfries Mart
Huntingdon Road
Dumfries
Tel 01387 279 495
This newsletter is published by
Scottish Organic Producers Association, SFQC, Royal Highland Centre,
10th Avenue, Ingliston, EH28 8NF
Tel 0131 335 6606 Fax 0131 335 6601
www.sopa.org.uk info@sopa.org.uk
Scottish Food Quality Certification (SFQC) and Scottish Organic Producers Association (SOPA)
has made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this Newsletter is accurate. No legal responsibility is accepted for errors, omissions
or misleading statements in that information caused by negligence or otherwise. No responsibility is accepted in regard to the standing of any firms,
companies or individuals mentioned in this Newsletter.