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Growth & Challenges in Organic Farming

John Dobberstein, Associate Editor

Organic farming’s most recent growth spurt began in the late 1990s and has continued into 2010.

There are currently more than 20,000 organic farming operations in the U.S. Total

organic acres increased from 1.3 million in 1997 to more than 4 million in 2005. The average size of organic farms increased to 477 acres in 2005, up from 268 acres in 1997.

The amount of certified organic farmland used for production in 2007 totaled 2.6 million acres, with 1.3 million used for crops and 1 million acres for organic pastureland.

The vast majority of certified organic farms are under 100 acres, but 866 farms in the U.S. that are 500 acres or larger comprise 60% of the certified organic acres, according to the USDA’s 2007 Census of Agriculture.

In February, the USDA released the results of its first wide-scale survey of organic producers, with 14,540 organic farms and ranches participating.

Their operations comprised 4.1 million acres of both certified and “exempt” organic farmland (where sales are less than $5,000 annually), with 1.6 million acres being harvested in 2008 and 1.8 million acres classified as pasture or rangeland.

Today’s organic farmers are struggling to meet demand for their products.

Growth in certified organic farmland for raising grains and soybeans hasn’t kept pace with demand, making life harder for dairy and meat producers depending on those inputs.

The USDA says the lack of conversion of conventional farmland to organic is hard to explain. It could be a result of negative attitudes from neighboring farmers about organic practices, or the inability of farmers to weather the effects of reduced yields and profits during the transition period.

The change from a regular farm to an organic operation doesn’t happen overnight.

According to USDA rules, a farmer transitioning from conventional to organic farming must farm the land in accordance with a certifier-approved plan for 3 years before its yield can be sold as organic. The only exception is for farmers who can prove that no disallowed substances were used on the land in the previous 3 years.

The 2008 Farm Act includes a new program – the “Organic Transition Support” provision – which makes conservation practices related to organic production and transition eligible for Environmental Quality Incentives Program payments, subject to a $20,000 annual limit and an $80,000 cap over a 6-year period.

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