Contributors to The Canadian Organic Grower - Guidelines
If you would like to write an article for The Canadian Organic Grower, please email the editor to discuss your idea before you start to write:
Janet Wallace janet-at-cog.ca
If you would like to submit a book review, please contact the COG Librarian for detailed guidelines and, if necessary, suggestions about books to review:
FEATURE ARTICLES :
The Canadian Organic Grower depends entirely on freelance submissions, and we welcome articles from all parts of the country - and from members abroad, as well. Our articles tend to fall into the following categories:
- Personal experiences/ observations/ techniques. We are looking for new and different ideas on growing and marketing.
- Profiles of growers, of operations or of well-known or important people in the organic movement. These almost always include new ideas or techniques for readers to try (see details below)
- Research and its results. From formal research conducted by universities, colleges and governments to simple experiments done by individuals at home, these informative articles can point out new directions for readers to move in.
- How-to articles related to farming and gardening. Whether its your own experiences or an account of how an expert does things, all steps should be thoroughly explained, and diagrams/photos should be supplied where needed for clarification.
- the farmers (names of all, with ages of the children)
- farm workers (number of part-time and full-time workers, apprentices etc.)
- location (including distance to the nearest city)
- soil characteristics (eg. type, drainage, depth)
- climatic characteristics (eg. frost-free days, rainfall, corn heat units)
- livestock (breeds, numbers etc)
- crop rotation (describe what is grown each year of a typical crop rotation, including green manure and overseeded crops)
- certification status (if and when the farm was first certified and by which body)
- acreage
- In order to best serve COG members, we try to provide a variety of articles in each issue on topics of specific interest to farmers, market gardeners, home gardeners and consumers of organic food.
We also consider articles on topics such as cooking organic food, nutrition, environmental concerns and progress within the organic movement.
PROFILES:
In every issue, we like to include at least one profile of a Canadian organic enterprise. Most are farm profiles, but we also include profiles of organic processing plants, marketers and transitional farms. With farm profiles, include relevant information about:
This information can be presented in point form in a sidebar, with the key points elaborated upon in the body of the article. Also include personal aspects about the farmers, such as why they began to farm organically and how long they have been farming. Highlight innovative approaches and discuss past failures, as well as successes. Include statements from the farmers, either paraphrased or as direct quotes. Profiles should include photos of the farmers.
Fact checking
Please supply phone numbers and email addresses for interviewees so that we can fact-check where necessary. Also, provide Latin names for any unusual crops, weeds or insects described in the article.
Book reviews
We welcome reviews of books that are either recently published or are in the COG Lending Library. Reviews are 100-350 words in length. We cannot provide remuneration for reviews, however reviewing is an excellent way for writers to break into the magazine. If you’re interesting in reviewing books, contact the library-at-cog.ca.
In your article, make sure names are spelled correctly. Don't get creative when you are quoting someone: if the exact words don't fit into your article, paraphrase them, but make the original intent of the speaker clear to the reader. Please supply phone numbers for interviewees so that we can fact-check where necessary.
PHOTOGRAPHS :
Try to get pictures of people actively working in their gardens or field. Please indicate who or what is in each photo. List groups of people from left to right and from back row to front row. Try to capture the same person, place or thing from more than one angle as you take pictures. Tell us who the photographer is for the list of credits.
With digital photos, we need high-resolution shots. A good rule-of-thumb is to ensure that the file size of the photo is at least 800 kb (preferably 1-3 MB) in size.
EXPENSES :
Expenses are not reimbursed unless discussed and approved in advance.
PAYMENT :
For each feature article, contributors are paid $100-200 per article (depending on length, scope and quality). We do not pay for opinion pieces or book reviews.
DEADLINES :
October 15 for winter issue, January 15 for spring, April 15 for summer, and July 15 for fall.
COPYRIGHT :
The Canadian Organic Grower reserves the right to print an article or column once and to post it on the COG website. Copyright belongs to the author, who will be consulted for permission for any reprint requests.
Submit queries to:
Janet Wallace
Email: janet-at-cog.ca
