ORGANIC

AGRICULTURE
IN ALBERTA
2017 Statistics
Report by Greg Dejong, Organic Alberta, September 2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 02

Methodology 03

Regions 04

ORGANIC OPERATIONS IN ALBERTA 05

Cereal Grains 08

Pulses 09

Oilseeds 10

Fruit & Vegetables 11

Forage 12

Livestock 13

Processors 14

APPENDIX A: ALBERTA ORGANIC 15

ACREAGE, 2015-2017
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Key Findings
In 2017 there were 590 certified operations (producers and processors) and 543,700
organic acres in Alberta. Alberta has 10% of the total certified operations in Canada,
11% of the crop producers (includes field crops, vegetables, fruit, etc), and 17% of the
total acreage. i

The number of certified organic operations in Alberta continues to grow. Before 2014,
numbers remained relatively stable between 340-365. However, in 2015 there was a
20% increase in total certified organic operators, 15% in 2016, and a 17% increase in
2017. Though there has been growth in each region of the province, it is primarily driven
by expansion in the Mackenzie County region which now has 39% of Alberta’s total
certified organic operators. Numbers of operators are relatively evenly distributed in
the rest of the province, with a slightly higher concentration in the North Central region
north of Edmonton to Valleyview.

Quick Facts

Alberta continues to see growth with 543,000 organic acres in 2017. 

The largest number of total acres is in pasture, forage and natural areas with 306,300
acres, proceeded by 233,600 acres in field crops, and 2100 acres in fruit and
vegetables. Of field crops, cereals make up 154,100, pulses 61,400 and oilseeds 6,400
acres. 
2017 continued to see the highest number of certified organic operators in Alberta
ever, a trend that began in 2015. There were 590 certified organic operations in
Alberta.
Thirty-nine percent of all Alberta organic operators were in Mackenzie County,
which saw an increase of 44 producers between 2016 and 2017. This increase
accounted for 65% of the total increase in operators in Alberta this year.
Cereal grains remain the most grown crop in Alberta, with 395 total growers. The
largest number grow oats (273), then wheat (139) and barley (137).
Peas have become a popular crop in Alberta with 182 growers and 56,300 acres in
2017. This is a 107% increase since 2014 in the number of producers and Alberta now
grows over 60% of all organic pea production in the Prairies.
After several years of remaining stable, fruit and vegetable growers increased by
36% between 2016 and 2017, growing from 38 to 59 growers.
Forty-one percent of all fruit and vegetable growers have only 1 crop, while 21%
have 10 or more, and a few grow over 40.

i Organic Agriculture in the Prairies (2017 Statistics), Canada Organic Trade Association, 2018. 02
Methodology
Organic Alberta has monitored certification trends in Alberta for almost a decade. The
process of collecting data on certified organic producers and processors and their
products depends almost entirely on the assistance of certification bodies. Each year,
Organic Alberta reaches out to these agencies—there are 16 of them with Alberta
clients/members—to request updated data for the previous year. We are very
appreciative and grateful for their cooperation. The trends that are emerging
demonstrate a growth, and reveal insights into what products are gaining or dwindling in
popularity.

The following findings are based on 2017 data, unless otherwise stated. Organic Alberta
bases its metrics on numbers of certified operators, as this is common to all supplied data
sources. Certified operations refers to all organic businesses which includes producers
and processors whereas producers refers to primary producers only. All acreage data
included in this report has been pulled from the Prairie Organic Agriculture Report
created by the Canada Organic Trade Association and commissioned by the Prairie
Organic Grain Initiative. We express our deep gratitude for their collection of this data and
allowing us to use it. The numbers in this report are our best estimates based on the data
provided. We have incorporated rounding of some figures this year and due to variations
in data sources, the numbers reported in here may vary slightly from other reports.
Organic Alberta expresses further thanks to those agency staff who supplied this
information and worked with us to increase its accuracy.

Note that 2015 data are largely unavailable due to a change in our collection methods
that year.

03
 Regions

Organic Alberta has delineated regions for the

province. The dividing lines between these regions are
driven partly by how municipalities are clustered.
Shown in this graphic are the 2017 tallies of certified
operators in each region.

NE: Northeast (currently no organic certifications in

this region)
MC: Mackenzie County, from the town of North Star
to the northern Alberta border
NW: Northwest, beneath MC and north of
Valleyview
NC: North-Central, above Edmonton and
approximating Highway 16
C: Central, including Edmonton through Red Deer
SC: South-Central, below Red Deer and including
Calgary
S: South, below Calgary

ORGANIC ALBERTA
Organic Alberta is the voice of organics. We communicate with and for the sector, we market the organic
brand, we encourage and support producers to become organic, we cultivate better production practices,
and we advance business development. We lead the industry towards success. We believe in good, pure,
healthy food that is environmentally friendly, free of genetic modification and ethically produced with high
standards for animal welfare.
04
 ORGANIC OPERATIONS
IN ALBERTA

In 2017 there were an estimated 590 certified organic operations in Alberta. Organic certifications
have been on the rise with an impressive increase of 86 (17%) from 2016 to 2017. This is a trend
that began several years ago, with an overall increase of 224 (61%) total operators since 2014. The
bulk of these increases have been in Mackenzie County, with 44 additional operators becoming
certified in 2017, a 24% net increase for that region and representing 65% of the province-wide
net increase. The remaining regions gained just a handful of certifications each. 

Fig. 2: Alberta Organic Operations by Year (and Region where available)

Cereal grains remain the most grown crops in Alberta, with 395 total growers and 36% of all crops
falling into this category. Cereal production increased 7% in 2017, after a giant 71% increase
2016. Still, it is Pulse crops that have seen the largest increase in growth: 206 producers grew
pulses in 2017, a 61% increase over 2016, and 97% over 2014. This trend reflects both an increase
in demand for plant protein and a general increase in the adoption of best management practices
which encourage pulses in crop rotations. There has also been a slight increase in forage, oilseed
and fruit and vegetable producers. The livestock sector has remained stable with slight recent
declines.

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 A tremendous 39% of organic operators are in
Mackenzie County. Other regions have a
relatively even distribution, with 15% in North
Central, 13% in South Central, 12% in the South,
11% in Central and 10% in the Northwest.

There is also the matter of turnover: across the

province, 33 (6%) of operators dropped or lost
their certification from 2016 to 2017, while 88
(15%) were new operators and 7 (1%) were
recertified after a hiatus. The remaining 462
(78%) certifications were renewals.
Fig. 3: Alberta 2017 Organic Producers and Processors by Region

Fig. 4: 2017 Organic Operators by Region by Production Type

Fig. 5: 2012-2017 Organic Operators per Year by Production Type 06

 CEREAL GRAINS

Altogether, there was a 16% increase in organic cereal grain producers, almost half of which
occurred in Mackenzie County. This was accompanied by a slight increase in acres from 147,000 in
2016 to 154,000 in 2017. 

As far as total numbers of growers are concerned, oats are still king, while wheat and barley are
also increasing. Certified organic oat growers showed a giant increase from 2014 to 2016—about
200%— then held steady into 2017. This levelling off is largely due to diversification of growers in
Mackenzie County into other crops such as wheat, barley and peas. Over those same years, barley
grew by 12% in 2016, then 26% in 2017; wheat, 51% and 16% respectively. Other cereals grown
include buckwheat, quinoa, spelt and Kamut but remain relatively small in numbers at 20
collectively.

Oats are also the largest crop in terms of acres at 68,500, however, the difference between number
of growers of oats and wheat are not nearly as dramatic in acreage as they are in number of
operators, with wheat sitting at 48,800 acres. There were also 31,600 acres in barley, 2,500 in
Kamut, 2000 in rye and 800 in other cereals which includes buckwheat, spelt and quinoa. 

Fig. 6: Total Cereal Grain Operations by Year

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 Fig. 7: Cereal Grain Producers by Year

Fig. 8: Cereal Grain Producers by Region by Year

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 PULSES
Peas continue to take off with 54% more producers
growing them in 2017; this, after a 107% increase from 2014
to 2016. Overall, almost 9 out of 10 certified pulse growers
include peas, more than all other pulses combined. As with
many other crops, Mackenzie County has the largest
number of pea producers in the province.

The dramatic increase in pea growers is also reflected in

the total acres, which were 56,300 in 2017. This was a
significant 281% increase over the 23,200 acres grown in
2016 and represented 60% of all organic pea acres in the
Prairies. Other pulses sat at 5100 acres. 

Fig. 9: Total Pulse Producers by Year

Fig. 10: Pulse Producers by Year Fig. 11: Pea Producers by Region by Year

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 OILSEEDS
Although the total number of oilseed producers in Alberta remain relatively low compared to cereals and
pulses, organic oilseed producers are on the rise. They doubled (215%), going from 40 to 84 between 2016 and
2017. Flax and hemp still dominate, together comprising 82.6% overall, although mustard has shown an
increase of 2.5 times.

Oilseed acres remain relatively low at 11,600 collectively for canola, flax, mustard and other. Hemp acres are
not included in these numbers and are estimated at between 5-10,000 acres. 

Fig. 12: Total Oilseed Producers by Year Fig. 13: Oilseed Producers by Year

Fig. 14: Oilseed Producers by Region by Year 10

 FRUIT & VEGETABLES

Since as long as we have had records, numbers of fruit and vegetable growers have remained in the
upper thirties. However, there was a significant increase between 2016 and 2017 of 38 to 59 growers. In
2017 there were 2100 acres in organic fruit, vegetables and herbs. In addition to the numbers shown in
Figure 15, there were also 11 producers growing squash, 10 growing garlic and tomatoes, 9 growing
cucumbers, leeks and spinach, 8 growing rhodiola rosea, as well as several growing other crops such as
lettuce and beans. The majority comes from a dozen of the 59 producers; most fruit and  vegetable
growers have a small selection. 23 (41%) fruit and vegetable growers have just 1 certified fruit/veg crop,
21 (38%) have between 2 and 9 crops, and 12 (21%) growers have 10 or more crops (a few with more than
40).

Fig. 15: Total Fruit & Vegetables Producers by Year Fig. 16: Fruit & Vegetable Producers by Year

Fig. 17: Fruit & Vegetable Producers by Region by Year 11

 FORAGE
Pasture, forage and natural areas comprise the largest total proportion of organic acres in Alberta sitting at
306,300 in 2017. The number of producers who certified at least one forage crop has increased 5% from 2016 to
2017. Hay producer numbers jumped 39% from 2014 to 2016, and another 13% in 2017. Also strongly
represented are pasture, alfalfa, clover and grass, though their numbers shifted only minimally.

Fig. 18: Total Forage Producers by Year Fig. 19: Forage Producers by Year

Fig. 20: Forage Producers by Region by Year 12

 LIVESTOCK

Alberta is ‘cattle country’ with 52 organic

cattle producers. From calves to beef, cattle
clearly dominate among livestock and they are
raised across the province (every region save
for Mackenzie County shows strong numbers
of organic cattle production). Livestock
production in 2017 also included 16 poultry
producers, 7 dairy, 4 hog, 3 goat and sheep
and 1 bee producer.

Fig. 21: Total Beef Cattle, Poultry, and Livestock Producers by Year

Fig. 22: Beef-Cattle Producers by Region by Year

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 PROCESSORS

The total number of processors has

remained relatively stable over the years,
with a slight drop from 82 in 2013 and
2014 down to 77 in 2017. However Figure
25 shows more nuance. Our analysis here
includes a breakdown of processors by
region, as well as by processors only and
producers who also do processing.
Depending on the region, a fair amount of
fluctuation does occur. The most
significant changes were in the Central and
South-Central region, where both saw a drop in
Fig. 23: Total Processors by Year
companies who are involved in processing only.
These two regions encompass Edmonton, Red
Deer and Calgary, which could mean we are
seeing a loss of processing facilities in the
city regions. Further analysis will be
needed to properly understand these
trends. Both of these regions also have the
highest number of producers who have
integrated some sort of processing into
their operation, with South Central seeing
a somewhat significant increase in this
category.

Fig. 24: Processors and Producer-Processors by Region for 2016 and 2017

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 APPENDIX A: ALBERTA
ORGANIC ACREAGE,
2015-2017*

*Table has been replicated directly from the Prairie Organic Agriculture Report created by the Canada
Organic Trade Association and commissioned by the Prairie Organic Grain Initiative.
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