Conversion to organic agriculture
Roses, Tarragon, Sumac and Caraway
Since 2020, we have converted several farmers from conventional to organic cultivation.
Some of the products for which we have successfully established such a secure supply chain include organic tarragon, organic rose petals, and organic sumac. We assist growers in marketing their products during the typically three-year transition period, provide advice on variety selection, and supply seeds. Weed control is of particular importance during the shift to organic farming; we offer guidance on mechanical weed control methods and train growers to identify alkaloid-containing weeds. If our customers find such weeds in the produce, it cannot be sold in Europe; even a single plant per hectare can result in exceeding regulatory limits.
We also support the process of joining an organic farming association and arrange multi-year contracts with our growers - an approach already implemented for caraway from Lithuania and planned for fennel seeds from Hungary.
It is very challenging for us to obtain pesticide-free products. This is due to the ubiquitous conventional agriculture, which makes it increasingly difficult to produce clean organic products worldwide - in 2025, the quantity of pesticides and herbicides used in conventional agriculture has reached a new all time high.
Pesticides can easily drift 1000m by air and endanger the entire harvest of organic crops, therefore the products meet no longer the strict requirements of our mostly German customers.
We advise our farmers intensively on how to avoid pesticide contamination. The strategies range from the choice of area to binding agreements with conventional neighbors to the creation of buffer areas that are not marketed as "organic". Planting hedges and rows of trees to protect against pesticide drift is also an effective measure.