News section

home  |  news  |  solutions  |  forum  |  careers  |  calendar  |  yellow pages  |  advertise  |  contacts

 

U.S. organic acreage grows, but more is needed, says the Organic Trade Association
Greenfield, Massachusetts
December 28, 2006

More than one million new acres were devoted to organic agriculture production in 2005, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and that's "great news," according to Caren Wilcox, executive director of the Organic Trade Association (OTA). However, the government still needs to do more to encourage farmers to switch to organic production.

"Consumers are demanding more and more organic products for their families, and farmers are working to meet that demand," Wilcox said. However, USDA's data also show that the number of certified organic operations increased just slightly in 2005, and that farmers face significant hurdles in making the transition from conventional to organic production.

"Given the strong consumer desire for organic products, USDA should do more to invest in organic agriculture and to remove the hurdles currently facing farmers who want to make the transition. Organic farmers need access to the same resources USDA provides to conventional farmers-research, market data, risk management tools, and import/export information," Wilcox said.

"That is why OTA is asking Congress to make the critical investments needed in the upcoming Farm Bill to advance organic agriculture," she added.

OTA's recommendations focus on four priorities:

  1. Foster transition to organic agriculture and trade by providing technical assistance to aid in the conversion of farmland from conventional to organic.

  2. Eliminate hurdles to organic agriculture and trade by creating appropriate risk management tools and developing an organic export policy and strategy.

  3. Initiate and fund organic agriculture and economic research as privately funded research is limited, and there is much to be learned about the fundamentals of organic production. 

  4. Maintain and enhance current agency programs so that the National Organic Program (NOP) and other parts of USDA can keep pace with the growing organic sector. Credibility of the organic standard is critical to organic farmers, handlers, and all others in the organic trade, and that credibility is tied to the capabilities and funding of NOP.

OTA's comprehensive plan is available at http://www.ota.com/DraftFarmBillOutline.html.

According to the latest available statistics for U.S. organic production released today (Dec. 15) by USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS), there were at least 8,445 certified organic farms in the United States in 2005, up from 8,035 certified organic farms in 2003. The 2005 operations represented slightly more than 4 million acres under organic management, up from 3 million acres in 2004 and nearly 2.2 million acres in 2003. For the first time, all 50 U.S. states had some certified organic farmland. The statistics are posted at www.ers.usda.gov/data/organic.

ERS data for 2005 reported 1,722,565 acres in organic cropland (about 0.51 percent of all U.S. cropland) and an additional 2,281,408 acres in pasture and rangeland (about 0.5 percent of all U.S. pasture). Organic cropland in 2005 was up from 1,451,601 acres in 2003, while organic pasture grew substantially from the 745,273 acres recorded for 2003. In addition, livestock numbers in 2005 were up substantially from 2003, reflecting the growing demand for organic milk and meat in the United States. According to ERS, nearly one percent of dairy cows and 0.6 percent of layer hens in the United States were managed using certified organic practices in 2005.

In its posting, ERS pointed out that farmers face a number of hurdles when considering converting to organic production. According to ERS, these include high managerial costs and risks in shifting to a new way of farming, limited knowledge of organic farming systems, lack of marketing and infrastructure, and inability to capture marketing economies.

OTA's farm bill proposal will address all of these issues.

The mission of the Organic Trade Association is to promote and protect the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy. OTA envisions organic products becoming a significant part of everyday life, enhancing people's lives and the environment. As a membership-based business association, the Organic Trade Association focuses on the organic business community in North America. OTA's more than 1,500 members include farmers, processors, importers, exporters, distributors, retailers, certifiers, and more. For further information, visit OTA's web site at http://www.ota.com/.

News release

Other news from this source

17,972

Back to main news page

The news release or news item on this page is copyright © 2006 by the organization where it originated.
The content of the SeedQuest website is copyright © 1992-2006 by SeedQuest - All rights reserved
Fair Use Notice