Stats and Resources

Organic Industry Statistics
We are part of a thriving industry! Since 1997, U.S. organic food sales have grown between 17 and 21 percent each year, to nearly triple in sales, while total U.S. food sales over this time period have grown in the range of only 2 to 4 percent a year. According to figures from the Organic Trade Association’s (OTA’s) 2004 Manufacturer Survey, organic product sales continue to grow exponentially in the United States. U.S. organic food sales grew by approximately 20.4 percent during 2003, to reach $10.38 billion. According to the findings, organic food sales now represent approximately 2 percent of U.S. food sales.

For more information on Organic Industry Market Trends, please visit the Organic Trade Association’s Website:
http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/business.html

Organic farming has been one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture for over a decade. The USDA Economic Research Service has documented that 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. Organic livestock sectors have grown even faster.

Right now, every state has some organic acreage in production. Ceres works primarily with wheat and in 2005 the US had a total of 277,487 wheat acres in production, a substantial increase in production from the 2000 figure of 181,262 acres.

While organic acreage is increasing, competition for organic acres has also sharpened as feed and fuel markets put pressure on food prices. The good news is that organic is growing; this gives all of us in the industry tremendous opportunities to grow and support sustainable farming and business practices.

For more organic farm acreage information, please visit the Economic Research Service website: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/Organic/

Organic Links and Resources

More Information—Our Favorite Links!
For more information on Organic certification and the organic community, here are a few of our favorite websites:

USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) -Statistics on organic production in the United States
http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/organic/

The USDA National Organic Website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/indexIE.htm

Our organic certifier, QAI: http://www.qai-inc.com

Advocacy Groups:
Organic Consumer’s Association- an organic watchdog group http://www.organicconsumers.org/

Organic Trade Association- organic industry advocacy group
http://www.ota.com/index.html

The Organic Center- A new organization formed to publicize organic benefits to the consumer with credible science.
http://www.organic-center.org/

Farmer Oriented Advocacy Groups:
Organic Farming Research Foundation- non-profit that funds farm-based research, excellent work.
http://ofrf.org/index.html

National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service- a fantastic technical resource for information on all types of sustainable farming.
http://www.attra.org/

Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education- a federally funded program that gives grants for farm based research. They are a great resource of information.
http://www.sare.org/

Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society- A great non-profit dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture in the Northern Plains (ND, SD, MT) area. We work closely with NPSAS to connect to farmers at their yearly conference.
http://www.npsas.org/

Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service- A great non-profit dedicated to helping farmers learn more about organic and sustainable practices, Midwest based. They have a great “Transition Hotline” to help farmers who are converting to organic.
http://www.mosesorganic.org/

AERO- Alternative Energy Resources Organization- A Montana non-profit that promotes sustainable agriculture, renewable energy and community self-reliance, a group that has consistently led progressive policy in MT, very smart folks.
http://www.aeromt.org/

“How To Go Organic”- The Organic Trade Association has created this new website to serve as a clearinghouse of information on organic production, marketing, and transitioning to organic. This is a great website for finding resources specific to your region.
http://www.howtogoorganic.com/

International Federation of Organic Argiculture Movements (IFOAM) – An organization dedicated to the promotion of organic agriculture worldwide.
http://www.ifoam.org/

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WHAT IS ORGANIC? WHY GROW ORGANIC? WHY BUY ORGANIC? ORGANIC CERTIFICATION STATS AND RESOURCES	Stats and Resources Organic Industry Statistics We are part of a thriving industry! Since 1997, U.S. organic food sales have grown between 17 and 21 percent each year, to nearly triple in sales, while total U.S. food sales over this time period have grown in the range of only 2 to 4 percent a year. According to figures from the Organic Trade Association’s (OTA’s) 2004 Manufacturer Survey, organic product sales continue to grow exponentially in the United States. U.S. organic food sales grew by approximately 20.4 percent during 2003, to reach $10.38 billion. According to the findings, organic food sales now represent approximately 2 percent of U.S. food sales. For more information on Organic Industry Market Trends, please visit the Organic Trade Association’s Website: http://www.ota.com/organic/mt/business.html Organic farming has been one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture for over a decade. The USDA Economic Research Service has documented that 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. Organic livestock sectors have grown even faster. Right now, every state has some organic acreage in production. Ceres works primarily with wheat and in 2005 the US had a total of 277,487 wheat acres in production, a substantial increase in production from the 2000 figure of 181,262 acres. While organic acreage is increasing, competition for organic acres has also sharpened as feed and fuel markets put pressure on food prices. The good news is that organic is growing; this gives all of us in the industry tremendous opportunities to grow and support sustainable farming and business practices. For more organic farm acreage information, please visit the Economic Research Service website: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/Organic/ Organic Links and Resources More Information—Our Favorite Links! For more information on Organic certification and the organic community, here are a few of our favorite websites: USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) -Statistics on organic production in the United States http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/organic/ The USDA National Organic Website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/indexIE.htm Our organic certifier, QAI: http://www.qai-inc.com Advocacy Groups: Organic Consumer’s Association- an organic watchdog group http://www.organicconsumers.org/ Organic Trade Association- organic industry advocacy group http://www.ota.com/index.html The Organic Center- A new organization formed to publicize organic benefits to the consumer with credible science. http://www.organic-center.org/ Farmer Oriented Advocacy Groups: Organic Farming Research Foundation- non-profit that funds farm-based research, excellent work. http://ofrf.org/index.html National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service- a fantastic technical resource for information on all types of sustainable farming. http://www.attra.org/ Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education- a federally funded program that gives grants for farm based research. They are a great resource of information. http://www.sare.org/ Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society- A great non-profit dedicated to promoting sustainable agriculture in the Northern Plains (ND, SD, MT) area. We work closely with NPSAS to connect to farmers at their yearly conference. http://www.npsas.org/ Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service- A great non-profit dedicated to helping farmers learn more about organic and sustainable practices, Midwest based. They have a great “Transition Hotline” to help farmers who are converting to organic. http://www.mosesorganic.org/ AERO- Alternative Energy Resources Organization- A Montana non-profit that promotes sustainable agriculture, renewable energy and community self-reliance, a group that has consistently led progressive policy in MT, very smart folks. http://www.aeromt.org/ “How To Go Organic”- The Organic Trade Association has created this new website to serve as a clearinghouse of information on organic production, marketing, and transitioning to organic. This is a great website for finding resources specific to your region. http://www.howtogoorganic.com/ International Federation of Organic Argiculture Movements (IFOAM) – An organization dedicated to the promotion of organic agriculture worldwide. http://www.ifoam.org/


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