Organic agriculture growing rapidly, but remains tiny niche

Food & Drink Weekly, Jan 8, 2007

The number of acres of U.S. farm- and rangeland devoted to the production of organic crops and livestock has more than quadrupled since 1990, but the total remains miniscule, at around 0.5 percent of all agricultural land, according to a recent USDA report.

The report, prepared by USDA's Economic Research Service, points out that organic farming has been one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture for over a decade. In 1990, when Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act, there were fewer than a million acres of certified organic farmland in the country. In the dozen years between 1990 and 2002, when USDA issued its national organic standards, the amount of certified organic farmland doubled. And, says ERS, that amount doubled again between 2002 and 2005, with organic livestock sectors growing even faster.

In 2005, organic producers hit a milestone as USDA reported that for the first time, all 50 states had some certified organic farmland. ERS reports that in 2005, U.S. producers dedicated over 4 million acres of farmland to organic production systems, including 2.3 million acres of cropland and 1.7 million acres of rangeland and pasture.

California remains the leading state in certified organic cropland, with over 220,000 acres, mostly for fruit and vegetable production. And while more than 40 states also had some certified organic rangeland and pasture in 2005, only four--Alaska, Texas, California and Montana--had more than 100,000 acres.

While adoption of organic farming systems showed strong gains between 1992 and 2005 and the adoption rate remains high, the overall adoption level is still low: only about 0.5 percent of all U.S. cropland and 0.5 percent of all U.S. pasture was certified organic in 2005. Still, many U.S. producers are embracing organic farming in order to lower input costs, conserve nonrenewable resources, capture high-value markets and boost farm income. Organic farming systems rely on practices such as cultural and biological pest management, and virtually prohibit synthetic chemicals in crop production and antibiotics or hormones in livestock production.

Turning to individual crops, ERS found that only a small percentage of the major U.S. field crops are being produced under certified organic farming systems. These include corn (0.2 percent), soybeans (0.2 percent) and wheat (0.5 percent).

On the other hand, organic carrots (6 percent of U.S. carrot acreage), organic lettuce (4 percent), organic apples (3 percent) and other fruit and vegetable crops were more commonly produced using organic systems in 2005. ERS also found that organic livestock was beginning to catch up with produce in 2005, with 1 percent of U.S. dairy cows and 0.6 percent of the layer hens managed under certified organic systems.