When the National Organic Program took effect in 2002, many observers predicted an exodus of small, direct-market farmers from organic certification programs. The assumption was that small growers would balk at the paperwork and the expense of certification and didn’t really need it anyway because of their direct relationship with their customers.
While there was in fact a small dip in organic certification in some places, that decline has been more than made up the past few years. The organic boom the country is enjoying  extends to all size farms, even the smallest market gardens.
“We’ve been experiencing a fairly steady growth rate of 6 to 10 percent a year, and in Maine, our bread and butter are small growers,” said Mary Yurlina of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) certification program.
On the other side of the country, Oregon Tilth has likewise been handling steady growth, with the biggest increase being from 2005 to 2006. In 2002, Oregon Tilth certified 371 farms; in 2005, the number was 412; and in 2006, it jumped to 491. Chris Schreiner of Oregon Tilth said that of the 35 new operations certified in 2005, 15 were farms under 10 acres.
According to new USDA statistics, the total acreage of certified-organic vegetables grew from 69,887 in 2002 to 97,930 in 2005 – a 40% growth. Within those numbers are some interesting facts:
•Acreage of organic mixed vegetables on farms of less than 5 acres increased 123 percent from 2002 to 2005. The total acreage of small-scale veggies (not including tomatoes, lettuce, and carrots) is 4,292 nationwide.
•Acreage of mixed vegetables produced on farms larger than 5 acres grew 387 percent, to a total of 36,195 acres, from 2002 to 2005.
•During the same time period, certified-organic tomato acreage grew from 3,406 acres to 6,655 acres. Lettuce grew from 10,475 to 11,986. And organic carrots actually declined, from 8,684 acres to 5,737 acres.
•The states with the most organic vegetable production were: California, Washington, Virginia, Oregon and New York.
•Every state except Wyoming had some certified-organic vegetable acreage in 2005.

Herbs, flowers, plants
    An additional 9,119 acres were certified for herbs, cut flowers, mushrooms and greenhouse/nursery. California again led the pack in those categories, followed by Wisconsin, Washington, Texas and Colorado. Most of those acres were in herbs or greenhouse/nursery, which includes nursery trees. Nationwide, there are only 183 acres of certified-organic cut flowers and the greatest number of those acres were in New Jersey, with 80, followed by Maine, with 19 acres.

The big picture
    According to a December 2006 report by USDA’s Economic Research Service, the U.S. had under a million acres of certified organic farmland when Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. By the time USDA implemented national organic standards in 2002, certified organic farmland had doubled, and doubled again between 2002 and 2005.
    In 2005, for the first time, all 50 States in the U.S. had some certified organic farmland. U.S. producers dedicated over 4.0 million acres of farmland – 2.3 million acres of cropland and 1.7 million acres of rangeland and pasture-to organic production systems in 2005. California remains the leading State in certified organic cropland, with over 220,000 acres, mostly for fruit and vegetable production. Other top states for certified organic cropland include North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Texas, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa.
    Nationwide, the number of certified-organic farms grew 15% from 2002 to 2005, with 8,445 reported in those most recent figures. California has by far the largest number of certified operations, with 1,738. Other states in the Top 10 of number of certified operations are Wisconsin, Washington, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Maine.
    “While adoption of organic farming systems showed strong gains between 1992 and 2005 and the adoption rate remains high, the overall adoption level is still low — only about 0.5 percent of all U.S. cropland and 0.5 percent of all U.S. pasture was certified organic in 2005,” the ERS report said.
    “Only a small percentage of the top U.S. field crops – corn (0.2 percent), soybeans (0.2 percent), and wheat (0.5 percent) – were grown under certified organic farming systems. On the other hand, organic carrots (6 percent of U.S. carrot acreage), organic lettuce (4 percent), organic apples (3 percent) and other fruit and vegetable crops were more commonly organic grown in 2005. Markets for organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs have been developing for decades in the United States, and fresh produce is still the top-selling organic category in retail sales. Organic livestock was beginning to catch up with produce in 2005, with 1 percent of U.S. dairy cows and 0.6 percent of the layer hens managed under certified organic systems.”

Local growers
    There are no statistics available about the percentage of locally grown produce that was produced on a certified-organic farm. In a report from Portland State University released in December 2006, agricultural economist Larry Lev (featured on page 7 of this issue) is quoted as saying that at Portland-area farmers markets, the number of organic farmers is relatively low overall. That certainly appears to be the case at many farmers markets, where growers increasingly are promoting their food on the basis of its freshness and local origins.
    Alternative certification programs also are thriving. Certified Naturally Grown (www.naturallygrown.org) now has 500 farms nationwide participating in its program, which requires growers to use the same rules as organic growers. And local or regional certification programs continue to appear.
    For example, the Montana Sustainable Growers Union formed in the fall of 2005 and has created its own label, (www.homegrownmontana.com). Most MSGU members have been certified-organic in the past and some still are, but the new label is intended to provide a local alternative to certification. Members pledge to manage their farms according to strict guidelines that “will lead to ecologically healthy farms, a healthy community, and high-quality food for our customers.”
    The continuing growth of farmers markets, reported in the January issue of GFM, suggests that both “organic” and “local” marketing efforts are paying off for small farmers.

For more information
www.ers.usda.gov/Data/Organic/#statedata
www.oeconline.org/farmers/growstronger/