The number of Texas acres devoted to organic production — including cropland, pastureland and rangeland — increased by about 97% from 2014 to 2019, with the amount of U.S.-certified organic acreage increasing by about 51% during that same time frame. Texas organic vegetable sales changed dramatically between 2014 and 2019. Squash and potatoes, two of the top five organic crops in 2014, dropped off the list 2019, and open field tomatoes fell from the first to fourth position. Spinach and watermelons were the state´s top sellers among organic vegetables in 2019, followed by lettuce, open field tomatoes and broccoli.
As of 2019, the top organic field crops grown in Texas were peanuts, corn, cotton, rice and wheat, which combined constituted 88.8% of the state´s organic field crops sold.
Now, experts from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are working to expand international export markets for Texas-grown organic fruits and vegetables by collaborating with producers and the produce industry.
The purpose of the project will be to analyze the current and potential export markets for selected Texas organic commodities.
Source: agrilifetoday.tamu.edu