The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently released the results of the 2019 Organic Survey, which show total sales of $9.93 billion in organic products, an increase of $2.37 billion, or 31 percent, from 2016. There were 16,585 certified organic farms, a 17 percent increase from 2016, which accounted for 5.50 million certified acres, an increase of 9 percent over 2016.
The full release can be viewed here.
California still leads the nation in certified organic sales with $3.60 billion, which is 36 percent of the U.S. total and four times that of any other state. It also led all states with 3,012 certified farms and 965,257 certified acres. Washington ($886 million), Pennsylvania ($742 million), Oregon ($454 million), and Texas ($424 million), round out the top five states for value of organic sales.
“The results of the 2019 Organic Survey show the continued growth of organic production in the United States,” said NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer. “These comprehensive and essential, national- and state-level data are valuable to the organic industry as well as agri-business infrastructure and programs that support the sector.”
The top sectors and commodities in 2019 were:
- Livestock and Poultry: $1.66 billion, up 44 percent
- Broiler chickens: $1.12 billion, up 49 percent
- Vegetables: $2.08 billion, up 27 percent
- Lettuce: $400 million, up 44 percent
The survey also asked producers about plans for future production. Twenty-nine percent of farms plan to increase their level of organic production. More than 1,800 certified organic farms have 255,000 additional acres in the three-year transition period required for land to become certified as organic. An additional 710 farms not currently certified reported 61,000 acres of land transitioning to organic production.
Additional survey results as well as the results of previous NASS organic surveys are available here or in NASS’s Quick Stats database.
