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Free of pesticides, antibiotics, and food additives, organic foods are often healthier and better for the environment, and despite their growing success in the supermarket, USDA’s first in-depth survey released today shows that certified organic farms make up fewer than 1 percent of farms in the country.
“This was USDA’s first wide-scale survey of organic producers, and it was undertaken in direct response to the growing interest in organics among consumers, farmers, businesses, policymakers and others,” said Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan in a press release. “The information being released today will be an important building block for future program and policy development.”
On average, organic farms have higher sales (and expenses) than farms in this country overall, according to the USDA’s 2008 Organic Production Survey. Organic farms’ sales were nearly $83,000 more than U.S. farms total. Yet the expenditures were higher for organic farms, too, averaging about $62,000 more per farm than the average for all farms.
“While U.S. consumers are willing to pay a premium price for organic products, some U.S. food companies must import organic ingredients from overseas, such as soybeans from China,” reports The Wall Street Journal.
From a land-use perspective, organic farms account for only 4.1 million acres of farmland compared to 922 million acres used by a variety of farms in the U.S.
The survey also found that much of the organic fare—44 percent—is sold within 100 miles of where it’s grown, primarily to wholesalers like processors, millers, and packers. Seventeen percent was sold at supermarkets or directly to consumers at farmers’ markets or roadside stands.
If organic producers want to constitute a bigger sector of the market, it looks like they’ve got a long row to hoe, but despite “challenges, more than 78 percent indicated that they plan to maintain or increase their organic production over the next five years,” according to the press release.