Certified organic farms sold $6.2 billion worth of organic products in 2015, a 13 percent increase from the previous year, according to a USDA report on the small yet burgeoning industry. The survey found 12,818 certified organic farms, a modest increase from 12,595 farms in 2014.
California, with 2,637 farms, and Wisconsin, with 1,205 farms, had the largest numbers of certified organic farms. California was also the state with the largest sales – $2.4 billion, up by $205 million from the previous year. Milk was the sales leader with $1.2 billion in sales, up 8 percent from 2014. Eggs were second at $732 million, up 75 percent from 2014. Most organic products are sold close to home.
USDA listed 4.36 million acres of organic land last year, up by nearly 20 percent from 2014’s 3.64 million acres. “Additionally, the industry shows potential for growth in production as existing organic producers are transitioning another 151,000 acres nationally to organic production,” said USDA. Organic operators must forego use of conventional pesticides, synthetic fertilizer, GMO seeds and antibiotics for three years to qualify for certification as an organic producer.
A comparative handful of farmers reported that contamination by GMO crops damaged the value of their crops. Losses by 32 farmers in 2015 totaled $520,671, nearly the same as the 31 farms with $506,552 in losses during 2014, said the USDA report.