Regional Group

Canterbury Organic Inc

About Canterbury Organic

Canterbury Organic (CO) is the organisation responsible for OrganicFarmNZ in the Canterbury region. CO is also responsible for administrating OrganicFarmNZ in the Nelson Bays – Marlborough regions.

CO is a non-profit Incorporated Society whose aims are to implement the OrganicFarmNZ certification system.

CO evolved out of the initial MAF funded pilot project for a domestic certification scheme. It was incorporated in November 2001. When the national body became incorporated in May 2003, CO officially began implementing the OFNZ certification system.  In December 2003 CO took on responsibility for administering the OrganicFarmNZ scheme in the upper South Island.

One of the key elements of CO is that it is run on a democratic basis by its producer members. This is to ensure accountability to those producer members to whom it provides certification services. 

At each AGM the producer members of CO elect an Executive Committee to run the society and vote to set the level of certification fees for the coming year.

CO members are encouraged to:

• Participate in local farm field days jointly run with the Canterbury Commercial Organic Group (CCOG);
• Attend the organic growing workshops run at the Biological Husbandry Unit (BHU) at Lincoln University; and
• Use the Pod Peer Reviews to introduce potential members to meet growers and see the scheme in action.

Geography

CO provides OrganicFarmNZ certification to both individuals and pods to producers in the upper South Island – Canterbury, Nelson Bays and Marlborough.

There are currently four established Pods based in Waimakariri, Selwyn, Motueka/Nelson, Sth Canterbury.

Fees

• Supporter $30
• Producer within pod (C0, C1, C2) $272.50
• Producer within pod (Fully Certified) $317.50
• Individual Producer $472.50

Contacts

The Administrator of CO is Gilda Otway, 9 Harmans Track, Little River, Banks Peninsula, 8152. Phone 03 325 1344. Email corganic@organics.org.nz

Any enquiries regarding OrganicFarmNZ should be made to Gilda in the first instance.

The Certification Manager is Robyn Patchett. To contact Robyn phone (03) 329 5725 or write to Robyn Patchett, Certification Manager, Bethels Road, RD4, Christchurch.

Committee Members are: Karen Joblin (Chairperson), Robyn Patchett (Deputy-Chairperson & Certification Manager), Hugh Mingard (Treasurer), Raymond Garb (Secretary), Robyn Patchett (NCC Representative), Jim & Eleanor Jolly, Nathan Davis, Suzie Clearwater, Gilda Otway.

Updated September 2008