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Origin Organic Farms Wins Double Honors
Article Composed Winter 2007 |
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 Autumn has been a winning season for Origin Organic Farms. Not only was the greenhouse grower selected to receive the BC Exports Sustainability Award, but Origin Organic Farms was also was honored with the Canadian Agri-Food Award of Excellence in the innovation category.
These high profile awards illustrate Origin Organic Farms’ commitment to delivering the best of both worlds – science and nature – in every tomato, pepper, and cucumber it grows under glass.
Underwritten by the province of British Columbia and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, the Sustainability Award recognizes exporters in BC that have shown leadership in integrating the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainability into their internal management practices.
Origin Organic Farms, formerly known as South Alder Greenhouses, exports 80-85 percent of its products to the U.S. at a value of $10 million.
The award acknowledges the company’s environmentally friendly solutions, like Earthcycle biodegradable packaging, and such innovative growing practices as the proprietary soil mixture that uses compost as a primary ingredient.
“While most farms produce compost just for waste management, at Origin Organic Farms the high-quality compost is used as soil media for the greenhouse crop,” said Dr. William Cheuk, company president. “This is a true sustainability cycle where the dead plants become part of the soil where new plants are grown.”
This pioneering spirit also made the grower the best candidate for the Canadian Agri-Food Award of Excellence in the innovation category. Origin Organic Farms was the only BC-based company to win an Agri-Food Award this year. The award, presented by the Canadian government, recognizes the individual, organization or business that made an innovative contribution to the agri-food sector resulting in a new technology, product, or service, a new use for an existing product, and/or increased productivity, profitability or client service.
 While enjoying all of this excellent recognition, Origin Organic Farms is not resting on its laurels. At the Produce Marketing Association convention in San Diego, Oct. 19-24, the grower unveiled its new brand, OriginO, to the trade, and also announced its acquisition of a 10-acre facility in Carpinteria, CA, which enables the Oppenheimer / OriginO partnership to market key organic greenhouse items year-round. |
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“Origin Organic Farms, formerly known as South Alder Greenhouses, exports 80-85 percent of its products to the U.S. at a value of $10 million.”
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