Growing Good Food Ideas Spotlight: From Seeds to Eggs – The Value Chain of Organic Grain
Posted: September 24, 2013
Categories: Featured Videos / Growing Good Food Ideas / News from Sustain Members / News from Sustain Ontario
Powerline Films has been traveling across Ontario gathering stories of people and places that are transforming the future of food. Created in partnership with Sustain Ontario and more than a dozen partners, these videos shine light on good food ideas from many regions of our province.
At the beginning of each week, we put one of the videos in the spotlight so you can feast your eyes on the good food ideas developing across the province. This week’s video features the value chain of organic grain, presented by Homestead Organics. Watch the rest of the videos on ontariofoodvideos.ca.
When you buy eggs at a farmers market, where did they come from? Yes, they came from a chicken, but as Tom Manley of Homestead Organics explains in this video, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Farmers need seeds if they’re going to grow anything and need feed if they’re producing meat products. That’s where Tom enters the picture. Tom buys seeds from seed farmers which he cleans, bags, and sells to crop farmers after carrying out quality control. Tom also uses grain crops from other farmers, including corn, barley, and oats, which he mixes, mashes, processes, and fortifies with vitamins and minerals to create feed for livestock, who in turn produce eggs, milk, and meat.
In this video, in addition to Tom, you’ll meet the seed farmer who sells to Tom and the poultry farmer who buys three tons of feed for his hens from Tom. They’re all part of a long and complex chain of local operations that culminates in the delicious meat or produce that we buy at our local market.