Green Acres - Organic Farming Gains Momentum
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Green Acres
Organic Farming Gains Momentum
The U.S. Department of Agriculture now reports that organic farming has been one of the fastest growing segments of American agriculture for more than a decade. The United States had less than one million acres of certified organic farmland when Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. Since then it’s doubled twice and then some. Meanwhile, organic livestock production has grown even faster.
Still, only a small percentage of all U.S. cropland and pastureland is certified organic—about 0.5 percent in each case. So there’s room to grow. The good news is that as of 2005 for the first time ever, all 50 states had certified land. California continues to lead in
cropland. Alaska leads in pastureland. Obstacles to converting over to organic practices exist. But more farmers are embracing the concept in order to lower operating costs, conserve nonrenewable resources, capture high-value markets and boost
farm income.
