The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

on stouffville suntribune saturday june w 2667 3 organic farming comes to york region as demand for pesticidefree food outstrips supply by hannelore volpe staff writer david and annice passafiume are part of a new wave of farmers in canadian agriculture they operate the only certi fied organic pickyourown farm in york region on the stouffville markham border their first crop of organic strawberries goes on sale monday raspberries peas and other small fruits and vegetables will follow the canadian organic grow ers organization lists only seven pickyourown organic farms in the greater toronto area one is in durham region the number of farms using at least some organic practices across canada has grown from 2230 in 2001 to 3555 in 2006 it took six years to change the passafiumes fiveacre farm to an organic operation a crop of alfal fa and timothy hay was grown for five years then plowed under this green manure cleaned any remnants of pesticides from the soil and provided nourish ment for strawberries and other fruits mr passafiume said to be certified as an organic farm the soil has to be free from pesticides and artificial fertilizers for at least three years this year the family planted 1000 apple trees and 20000 more strawberry plants mrs passafiume noted the familys aim is to promote sustainable living and farming she added one of the ways theyre trying to discourage the tarnish plant bug that leaves strawberries with what some call funny faces is to plant clover nearby theyre trying a variety of strate gies and techniques to see what works best to be certified as an organic farm the soil has to be free from pesticides and artificial fertilizers for at least three years called organics farm the pas safiumes operation is inspected by the organic crop producers and processors inc in lindsay this is one of about 30 organ ic certification bodies across canada staff photosjoerd witteveen daniel passafiume 13 holds up the first crop of organic strawberries with brittany 13 left mom annice alisa 10 and dad david at the pick- yourown organics farm on reesor road just north of nineteenth avenue these bodies dont all have the same standards said laura telford executive director of the canadian organic growers but they meet or beat the canadian standard as well as annual inspections of organic farms there are surprise visits at the beginning of 2009 the organic products regulations will take effect meaning all organic growers must have their produce certified to the canadian standard ms telford said organic farming is labourinten sive and battling weeds without chemicals is a challenge but with the help of their chil dren daniel 13 brittany 12 and nineyearold alisa all experts in wielding a hoe the family gets the job done a small tiller is used between the rows mr passafiume said but weeds close to plants must be removed with a narrow hoe the kids love it he said the number of farms using at least some organic practices across canada has grown from 2230 in 2001 to 3555 in 2006 even though they arent always in the mood to work they are proud to be part of the enterprise he said mr passafiume grew up well acquainted with farmingon apple- wood farm his parents frank and diane passafiume strawber ry and apple farm on mccowan road north of stouffville road david and annice had a tradi tional farm in richmond hill for 15 years but had been research ing organic farming for some time before that there are still a lot of pesti cides even if you are doing it fol lowing the rules david said you are better off without pes ticides if you can grow that way as well crops grown without pesticides and artificial fertilizers may have more nutrients organics farm is at 7550 nine teenth ave near reesor road on the outskirts of stouffville call 9056405206 to find out which crops are ready for picking or log on to www organicsfarmca the lowdown more information on organic farming and produce is available on the www cogxa website when youre shopping for organic pro duce at a store look for the label of a certifying body at a farmers market or pickyourown operation the organic certificate should be prominently displayed if it isnt ask to see it organic food facts about 15 per cent of canadian farm ers use organic farming practices from 2005 to 2006 retail sales of organic foods grew by 28 per cent demand for organic foods is outstrip ping supply that means most organic food in stores is imported sculpt your body to the shape youll love accent technology is the most advanced available for fat and cellulite reduction and medispa clinic on main has it body contouring saggyjowls face tightening double chin skin tightening fat and cellulite reduction meclispa glinic on main 6038 main street stouffville 9056400092 wyvwm cliniccom