National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Public Affairs Specialist Terry Matlock reported there was a 17% increase in the number of certified organic farms in the U.S. between 2016 and 2019.
In 2008 there were around 11,000 certified farms. By 2019 there were more than 16,500. There was a 31% increase from 2016 to 2019.
By 2019 total sales of organics reached a high of $9.9 billion. Since the first NASS organic survey in 2008, the number of organic farms, the acres used for organic production and the value of organic products sold have increased, with value of sales more than tripling between 2008 and 2019. As a direct effect of this growth, the availability of certified organic commodities has increased. Organic farms reported $2 billion in direct sales to retail markets, institutions and food hubs. Organic farms sold an additional $300 million directly to consumers.
Organic is not just a label. Producers must adhere to strictly regulated processes and be vetted by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-accredited certifiers in order to receive the organic designation.
The USDA-certified organic label gives farmers a strong marketing tool and offers consumers assurances that these products meet standards. According to USDA, on average, U.S. organic farms have higher production costs than conventional farms. Many of these costs are associated with more expensive pest control measures.
Warm, moist and extended growing seasons in the Southeast allow agricultural pests such as weeds, insects and disease organisms to flourish. These conditions challenge producers considering a transition from conventional production to certified organic practices or individuals contemplating a new start in farming. University of Georgia researchers are working on a new study meant to develop best practices for transitioning farmers starting out with land that has been used for grazing or has lain fallow.
“Breaking new ground is a difficult task for any farmer. New organic farmers and farmers transitioning to organic vegetable production often purchase or expand on land that has previously been in pasture or is somewhat derelict farmland — land that has been previously farmed but not recently managed,” lead researcher Kate Cassity-Duffey writes in the abstract for the study, “Breaking New Ground: Reducing Perennial Weeds and Improving Soil Fertility for Southern Farmers Transitioning to Organic Production.”
Cassity-Duffey, an assistant professor of horticulture specializing in organic production, is working with horticulture professor Timothy Coolong, the University of Georgia (UGA) co-coordinator for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, Southern Region, and assistant professor of weed science Nicholas Tuschak Basinger on the three-year study.
Funded through the Organic Transitions program of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Cassity-Duffey said the study was prompted by rising interest in expanding organic production, farmer-informed research and work being done by the Working Farms Fund from The Conservation Fund, a national organization founded in 1985 that provides support for agricultural sustainability projects and organic producers.
“What really prompted us to apply for this grant is the Working Farms Fund from The Conservation Fund, which helps successful, small-scale organic farmers expand to much larger farms and transition land over to certified organic production,” Cassity-Duffey said. “They are helping farmers acquire land while simultaneously conserving farmland, supporting farmers and applying conservation easements for land that could be at risk for development. The group and farmers in that group really helped us identify research needs for organic farmers in Georgia and across the Southeast.”
“This type of land can be transitioned quickly because it often hasn’t been worked recently. It may have received little management, but it is what is available and affordable to producers,” Coolong said.
In the first phase of the study, the researchers are developing organic trial plots at the UGA Durham Horticulture Farm, as well as surveying locations and setting up field trials with partner producers.
“For this project, one of the main issues we will have is that, if the land hasn’t been managed, there are a lot of weeds — and potentially bermudagrass if that was the primary forage grown — and weed control and management is extremely challenging in organic production,” Coolong said. “This looks at a critical time period, when the farmers are transitioning to organic production, to set them up so that weed management is not debilitating in those first few years.”
Determining best practices for transition to organic production, including less intensive weed management while improving soil fertility, is the main focus of the study, Cassity-Duffey said.