P.E.I. farmer cracks major organic market

P.E.I. shoppers looking for both local and organic will soon be able to get their carrot of choice at Sobeys.

'Our business has always been motivated by supplying what people want.' — Eddie Dykerman

Eddie Dykerman's Red Soil Organics brand will be on the shelves of Sobeys stores around the Maritime region this summer. Amanda Walsh, taken on by Dykerman as a consultant, is already looking ahead to marketing more organic produce.

"I'm a believer, I think we can," Walsh told CBC News Friday.

"It's definitely possible and what we see here is kind of a glimpse of what we can do on a larger scale."

Walsh and Dykerman are also working on organic cabbage, broccoli and romaine lettuce.

Dykerman is well known as a conventional farmer on the Island, and as a former president of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture. Dykerman said the timing for his pitch to Sobeys was right.

"I think the general public's way of trying to help the farmer is that they're starting to demand that local products are made available to them at the retail," he said.

"I think that's been a bit of a mind shift in the retail business in the last two or three years."

Dykerman said while growing organic costs him a bit more, he can also get a bit more money for those crops. For him, it's a business decision.

"I'm not pro-organic or anti-organic," he said.

"Our business has always been motivated by supplying what people want. And people seem to want this product, so we'll do our best to grow it for them."

Sobeys has agreed to buy 4,000 bags of Red Soil Organics carrots this year. It's a tough market to crack, because most organic produce in grocery stores is imported.