The sales and production of organic agricultural continued to increase in 2016, when U.S. farms produced and sold $7.6 billion in certified organic commodities, according to data released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
Results of the 2016 Certified Organic Survey show that 2016 sales were up 23 percent from $6.2 billion in 2015. During the same year, the number of certified organic farms in the country increased 11 percent to 14,217, and the number of certified acres increased 15 percent to 5.0 million.
California, with $2.9 billion in certified organic sales, continued to lead the nation in certified sales, accounting for 38 percent of the U.S. total. It also had the largest share of certified organic acres and farms. Three states had more than 1,000 certified farms: California (2,713), Wisconsin (1,276), and New York (1,059).
"The results of the 2016 Certified Organic Survey show the continued interest and growth in organic foods," according to Hubert Hamer, NASS Administrator. "The survey provides the only comprehensive source of national and state data on certified organic production. It was expanded in 2016 from previous years to include fresh and processed information separately for all fruit and berry crops, as well as to include grape data by variety."
Ten states accounted for 77 percent of U.S. certified organic sales, virtually the same share as in 2015 and 2014.
Crops accounted for 56 percent of the sale of certified organic production. Organic production of vegetables totalled $1.6 billion with fruits, tree nuts, and berries reaching $1.4 billion. The top fruit and vegetable commodities for 2016 were apples – $327 million, up 8 percent and lettuce – $277 million, up 6 percent.
Other top organic crops were strawberries, grapes, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, hay, spinach, and mushrooms.
Full results from the survey are available at www.nass.usda.gov or the Quick Stats database at quickstats.nass.usda.gov
Source: tsln.com