A growing number of beef producers are seeking organic certification, with Australian Certified Organic recording a 25 percent increase in applications over the past two years.
According to beefcentral.com, this 25 percent represents an additional 60 requests from beef producers around the country, motivated by the fact that organic certification will allow them to charge a premium for their product.
“Eight years ago when we opened our doors we started with 66 head of cattle a fortnight. Earlier in 2013 we were processing 1000 a week,” said CEO of Arcadian Organic & Natural Meat Co, Alister Ferguson.
“The reason is that producers can see a 40 percent premium in it for them. They can also see huge markets, like the US, demanding organic beef, with these orders still struggling to be filled. Our programs are currently growing by 20 percent each year, and the great unknown is China, which is just starting to come on board as a customer.”
In November last year Australian Certified Organic, which registers over 14,000 products and routinely and randomly audits businesses that use its logo, launched its One Logo Says It All campaign, which will run for three months and aims to educate consumers on how to purchase certified organic products.
And while a growing number of food producers are embracing organic standards, some argue that certification is simply not viable and is an added cost that producers, already under considerable financial pressure, can’t afford.