Organic sales went up 13 percent in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Certified Organic Survey. The survey showed 12,818 certified organic farms in the U.S. sold a total of $6.2 billion in organic products, up from $5.5 billion in 2014.
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) evaluated the survey data and found the number of certified organic farms fell from 14,093 in 2014 to 12,818 in 2015. Feedstuffs noted that the NASS survey is mandatory, but discrepancies can exist between the survey and other sources.
The Organic Integrity Database reflects different numbers. The Organic Integrity Database currently shows 15,904 certified organic operations in the United States raising crops or livestock and gathering wild crops.
Upon closer evaluation of the 2015 Organic Production Survey, a significant increase in acreage can be traced to a single organic operation becoming certified in September 2015. Nearly all of the increase of 691,289 acres was due to the addition of a large livestock ranch in Alaska, which increased the state’s certified organic to nearly 700,000 from about 300 acres.
The NSAC identified the top five states for organic acreage in 2015, excluding Alaska.
California had a 15 percent increase to 790,413 acres, up from 685,848 acres. New York saw a 13 percent increase in organic acreage to 238,700 acres, up from 210,871.
Montana, however, saw the largest decrease in organic acreage, dropping 21 percent to 251,531 acres from 317,878 acres.
Wisconsin and Oregon also saw decreases in their acreage. Wisconsin’s acreage fell 7 percent to 209,615 acres, and Oregon’s acreage fell 14 percent to 175,675 acres.
The top five commodities in certified organic sales were milk, eggs, broiler chickens, apples and lettuce.
Milk went up 8.4 percent to $1.2 billion. Eggs increased 74.5 percent to $732 million, up from $420 million in 2014.
Broiler chickens saw a 13.1 percent increase to $420 million, while apples went up 20 percent to $302 million.
Lettuce saw a slight decrease of less than 1 percent to $262 million.
The vast majority of certified organic agricultural products sold in 2015 were sold close to the farm or ranch, according to Feedstuffs. The first point of sale for 75 percent of all U.S. organic farms and ranches was within 100 miles from the farm and 35 percent was 100-499 miles away, virtually unchanged since 2014.
Seventy-one percent of U.S. certified organic farms and ranches reported selling products to wholesale markets, such as buyers for supermarkets, processors, distributors, packers and cooperatives. Thirty-six percent sold directly to consumers and 22 percent sold directly to retail markets and institutions.