2014 Organic Survey - Results from Cognitive Testing

2014 Organic Survey – Results from Cognitive Testing
Heather Ridolfo, Project Lead
Research and Development Division
October 15, 2014
Interviewing Team: Heather Ridolfo, Bob Garino, Dave Losh, Herman Ellison, Dale Hawks, and
Kathy Ott
Background
The 2014 Organic Survey is a data collection project conducted by NASS for the Risk
Management Agency (RMA); Census funds will also be used as directed by the 2014 Farm
Appropriations bill. The survey is an organic production and practices survey, parts of which
have been previously conducted in 2008 and 2011. The population of interest is any operation
that produces organic products according to USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP)
standards and is certified or exempt from certification. The population also contains operations
that reported in the 2012 Census of Agriculture that they were transitioning to organic. The
questionnaire collects information on organic production of field crops, vegetables, fruits, tree
nuts, berries, livestock and poultry, production practices, production expenses, marketing
practices and value-added production and processing.
A new section has been added to the 2014 questionnaire (Section 10), which asks about GMO
presence in organic crops. The primary objective of the cognitive interviewing is to evaluate
respondents’ comprehension of questions in this section and the quality of data reported.
Methods
Sample
Since OMB clearance was not obtained for this testing, we only conducted a total of 9
interviews. The interviews were conducted in the following states: CA, OR, OH, VA and MD.
The sample included operations that grow organic crops that are certified organic or exempt from
organic certification. Operations that had organic livestock only were excluded from the sample
as they would have skipped out of Section 10. Interviewers in each state are responsible for
recruiting respondents. Respondents were informed of the intent of the cognitive interviews
during the recruitment process and that their participation was voluntary. Sample characteristics
can be found in Table 1.
Table 1. Sample Characteristics
ID
State
Farm Type
1
CA
321 organic acres; fruit and vegetable crops; also a processor
2
CA
200 organic acres; fruit crops; also a contract poultry grower
3
CA
60 organic acres; fruit and vegetable crops
4
CA
205 organic acres; field, nut, vegetable crops
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5
6
7
8
9

OR
OH
MD
VA
VA

730 organic acres; field and vegetable crops
80 organic acres; mostly wooded, some pasture, 8 acres of crops
No information provided
4 organic acres; field and vegetable crops
Herb, vegetable and fruit crops

Cognitive Interviewing Procedures
All interviews were conducted in October 2014, with the survey scheduled to be mailed out in
January 2015. Interviewers were provided with an interview protocol and interview guide prior
to data collection (See Appendix A). Version 14 of the 2014 Organic Survey was used during
testing (see Appendix B). Since the primary mode of data collection for the Organic Survey is
mail, interviewers were instructed to have respondents complete the survey on their own at the
beginning of the interview. To save time, respondents completed Sections 1-10 only. After the
respondents completed the survey, the interviewers reviewed Sections 1-9 for errors and asked
the respondents if there were any survey questions they were not sure how to answer or had
questions about. The interviewers then probed generally on those questions to determine how
respondents interpreted those questions and how they formulated their responses. As mentioned
above, Section 10 is a new section on the survey. Interviewers then focused the remaining time
on probing this section of the survey. Scripted probes were provided and interviewers were
encouraged to ask emergent probes as necessary. The interviews lasted approximately one hour.
After each interview, the interviewers typed up their notes and sent them back to the project lead
for analysis.
Data Analysis
The data from the cognitive interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method.
This method involves three steps of data reduction (Strauss and Corbin 1990). First, I performed
open coding. This entailed reviewing the data with two questions in mind: 1) How do
respondents interpret the survey questions and 2) How did respondents formulate their response?
During this initial analysis step, codes were assigned to each respondent for all survey questions
on which they were probed. In the next analysis stepped, which is referred to as axial coding, the
initial codes were reviewed and compared against the raw data. During this step, the codes were
refined and themes were established. In the final analysis step, selective coding, the core themes
were specified. These themes served as the unifying link for all codes assigned in the earlier data
steps. From this final step, a working theory was developed, which depicts how the respondents
comprehended the survey questions and types of information these questions can be expected to
measure.
Results
There were several common findings throughout the testing of this survey. This section will
briefly present the main findings from this testing, focusing on common themes and findings
from Section 10. Further details on these findings and others can be found in the question by
question review below.
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Several respondents commented that this survey appeared to be designed for a farmer who grows
a lot of one or two crops, and a couple respondents said it was geared toward a “Midwest
farmer” specifically. Many of the respondents we interviewed grew a large variety of crops
throughout the year. For example, several respondents grew over 20 different organic vegetables
a year, and one respondent reported growing 250 different vegetables a year.
Across the different sections of the survey, respondents had difficulty reporting the number of
crops grown, crop variety, the unit, and the amount and value of production. It was difficult for
respondents to report all of the crops they grew due to the size of the answer space provided, and
the fact that their crops were not all listed. None of these respondents appeared to see the
instructions to use a separate sheet of paper if additional space was needed. Several of these
respondents also commented on how tedious it was for them to report all of the crops they grow
and it’s not likely that they would list them all out even if space was given. Respondents were
also dissatisfied with the fact that some crops were broken down by different varieties (e.g.,
green cabbage, red cabbage, and other cabbage) and others were not (e.g., peppers). Respondents
often did not agree with the units provided when reporting amount produced. It was also difficult
for respondents to report their production amounts and values. Sometimes this was because they
had not yet begun or had not finished production sales for the crops reported and other times it
was because they did not know these amounts for the specific crops reported. Finally in a couple
different sections, respondents missed Question 2 in Sections 3-5, which asked about marketing
contract arrangements. Respondents also did not interpret this question correctly and this resulted
in response error.
None of the respondents we interviewed experienced GMO presence in their crops. All
respondents were familiar with the term “GMO.” Most respondents considered cross-pollination
from GMO crops to organic crops when answering Question 1 of Section 10; however some
respondents considered other things.
Section 1 – Organic Information
This section was only probed on if respondents indicated they had a problem when filling out the
survey or if they made an obvious error on the survey.
Question 1
After answering “Yes” to Question 1, three respondents missed the skip to go to Question 2 and
answered the sub-question under the “no” response (Did this operation have any USDA NOP
organic production in 2014 that was exempt from certification). One of these respondents
answered “no” to the sub-question and then missed the skip to go to Section 15 and answered
Question 2 in Section 1. After reading the sub-question, another respondent answered “no” to
question one and proceeded then to Question 2. Finally, the third respondent answered “yes” to
the sub-question, as she does have organic production that is exempt from certification in
addition to the production that is certified organic. This respondent was then unsure if she should
answer Question 2, so she wrote her answers to Question 2 outside of the answer space.

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Questions 2-4
For the most part, respondents had no difficulty answering these questions. One respondent was
unsure how to answer these questions. This respondent was unsure if she should report the total
acres she owned or the total acres she owned and farmed in Question 2a. She owns 80 organic
acres but only farms 8 acres. The remaining 72 acres are woodland and pastureland. In the end
she thought Question 2a was asking how many organic acres that she farmed did she own;
however she ended up leaving this question blank. She did enter 0 for 2b and 2c and 15 acres for
2d.
As mentioned above one respondent had both organic production that is certified and organic
production that is exempt from certification. However, because she was confused by the skip
patterns, this respondent was unsure if she should answer Question 2. She ended up reporting
outside of the answer space that she owns 360 organic certified acres and rents 370 organic
certified acres. She has tomatoes growing in a plastic covered 90 ft x 36 in wide house that are
exempt from certification. She did not report these tomatoes in the exempt column because they
are less than one acre. Instead she included them in the 360 certified organic acres that she owns.
Recommendation:
1) Reformat the instrument to make the skip to Question 2 following a “yes” response in
Question 1 clearer. One possible solution is to tell respondents who answer “yes,” to
“Enter the name of the certifying agency or organization and then go to Item 2. Approved.
Section 2 – Organic Field Crops
This section was only probed on if respondents indicated they had a problem when filling out the
survey or if they made an obvious error on the survey.
Question 1
Five respondents answered “yes” to Question 1 and completed this section of the survey. The
majority of respondents understood which types of crops this question was asking about and
three respondents, who answered “yes” to Question 1, did have the crops of interest (grain hay,
grass hay, Virginia peanuts). However, two other respondents were not sure what types of crops
were supposed to be included in this section. One of these respondents initially answered “yes”
to Question 1 but he should have answered “no” as he does not grow any field crops. When he
first read Question 1 he asked, “What are row crops?” He then commented that he didn’t know
what pulse crops were and was unsure about what the statement “exclude personal or home use
crops” meant. When he got to Question 2, he proceeded to enter several of his vegetable crops on
the form and commented that none of his crops were listed below. He was then redirected by the
interviewer. Similarly, after reading Question 1, another respondent asked, “What are row
crops?” This respondent then read the list of crops provided and commented that she grows herbs
but they are not dried. She then noticed beans and said “Well, I have some pulse crops. I guess
this means my vegetables, but let me look ahead in this book and see if that is right.” She then
paged through and found the vegetable section, and then went back to Section 2 and answered
“no” to Question 1. Finally, one respondent had to read the instructions which indicated “if two
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or more cutting were made from the same acres, report acres harvest for that item only once but
report total production from all cuttings twice” before she understood it.
Question 2
The four respondents, who correctly interpreted and answered Question 1, had difficulty
reporting production. For one of these respondents, this difficulty stemmed from the rental
agreement he has with the landowner. This respondent indicated that the landlord baled and sold
the hay that he grew and he did not know how much was produced or sold. He wrote down a
guess. This same respondent indicated that it’s inappropriate to report hay produced in bushels as
it is sold in tons. He entered tons for the unit. Another respondent, who had difficulty with this
section, indicated that he could not report production for his peanut crop as it had not been
harvested yet. This issue arose in Sections 5 and 6 as well. Instead of reporting in tons, the third
respondent reported 50% for the quantity of organic production sold as organic and 0 for the
amount sold as conventional. However, this was not probed on. Finally, one respondent
commented that there was not enough space to write in the unit for production.
Recommendations:
1) Provide an instruction to respondents in the bulleted list that states, “If production is not
complete, please provide estimates.” Denied. Instructing some to report estimates could prompt all to do the same.
2) Provide a unit column similar to the one in Section 10, which allows respondents to
report in the unit that is applicable to their operation. Denied. The units of each known crop is how the data is published.
3) Provide respondents with more space to enter the unit by shrinking the gross value of
organic production sold columns. Approved.
Section 3 – Organic Grapes
This section was only probed on if respondents indicated they had a problem when filling out the
survey or if they made an obvious error on the survey.
Question 2
Only two respondents answered “yes” to Question 1 and completed this section. Both
respondents had some difficulty with Question 2. One respondent has less than one acre of
grapes but was not sure how to report this in tenths so she entered one acre. This respondent also
did not agree with the production unit provided in the table. She produces 250 lbs of grapes a
year. She said she could convert it to tons but it would be as she described it “a pain in the neck.”
Similarly, another respondent stated, “My organic grapes are table grapes and they would be in
pounds not tons. You wouldn’t ask a table grape grower to report in tons.” He said he could
convert them to tons and did a calculation in his head. He said table grapes are sold in 19 lb box
equivalents and it would be easier for him to report in that unit. This issue arose in Sections 5
and 6 as well.
Recommendation:
1) Provide a unit column similar to the one in Section 10, which allows respondents to
report in the unit that is applicable to their operation. Denied. The units of each known crop is how the data is published.
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2) Emphasize in promotional materials that we need their data no matter how small of an
operation they are or how little of a crop they grow. Approved.
3) To determine the magnitude of the issue of respondents not reporting small quantities of
crops, consider analyzing survey data to determine how many respondents report in
tenths (instead of acres) or indicate on the form that they grow less than one acre, and/or
enter partial data. Approved.
Section 4 – Organic Apples
This section was only probed on if respondents indicated they had a problem when filling out the
survey or if they made an obvious error on the survey.
Question 2
Only one respondent answered “yes” to Question 1 and completed this section. This respondent
had difficulty answering Question 2. She has a little over one acre of certified organic apple trees
of different varieties. Because she only has 2-5 trees of different varieties, it’s difficult for her to
estimate the area harvested and produced for each variety. Therefore she placed all of her apple
trees under “other” and reported that “<1 acre” were harvested and left the remaining columns
blank.
Recommendations:
1) Emphasize in promotional materials that we need their data no matter how small of an
operation they are or how little of a crop they grow. Approved.
2) To determine the magnitude of the issue of respondents not reporting small quantities of
crops, consider analyzing survey data to determine how many respondents report in
tenths (instead of acres) or indicate on the form that they grow less than one acre, and/or
enter partial data. Approved.

Section 5 – Other Organic Fruits, Tree Nuts, and Berries
This section was only probed on if respondents indicated they had a problem when filling out the
survey or if they made an obvious error on the survey.
Question 1
Five respondents answered “yes” to Question 1 and completed this section. One respondent
misread the include/exclude statement following Question 1. After reading this statement she
said “Interesting, this includes home use, so everything. I would have to guess at that part.” It’s
not clear how much this affected her response to the subsequent questions.
Question 2
In Question 2, respondents did not always report all of the organic fruits they grew. This
occurred for two reasons. First, a few respondents were reluctant to report the fruits they grew
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because they grew them in small quantities. For example, one respondent indicated that the
amount of fruit he sold was so small it wasn’t worth reporting, stating, “In a million dollars of
sales, these amount to less than $100 each.” Another reason why respondents did not report all of
the fruit they grew was because there was not enough space provided on the form. One
respondent who grew a dozen different types of fruit only reported four.
One respondent also did not agree with the breakdown of particular fruits into subcategories.
When looking over the list of fruits, this respondent questioned why so many categories of
blueberries were offered but only one type of peach was listed. He thought any fruit other than
blueberries would have more variety. He also thought plums and prunes should be separated and
that fresh figs should be separated from processed figs. He indicated that a fresh fruit producer
doesn’t care about what a processed food producer is growing. Other respondents raised this
issue in Section 6 as well.
One respondent indicated that she would rather report the amount of organic crops harvested in
row feet rather than acres and tenths. She knows she has 500 foot rows of fruit and it is hard for
her to convert this number to acres.
As in Section 4, two respondents had difficulty reporting the amount of organic production and
the sale of organic production for their fruits and nuts. There were several reasons for this. First,
similar to the issue reported in Section 5, one of these respondents hadn’t harvested his walnuts
yet. He indicated that walnut harvesting typically takes place in late September/early October.
After that it is a six month process of processing the nuts before they are sold. He guessed that he
would produce 20 tons and 100% of those produced would be sold as organic. Because nuts take
6 months to process, this will still be an issue when the survey is fielded in January. Another
reason why a respondent had difficulty reporting production was these numbers are not tracked.
When answering Question 2, this respondent commented “I have no idea what my production
is.” He indicated that they have harvest sheets for each day that records what was harvested and
he would have to look back through each sheet to get the number of strawberries produced. This
same respondent also had difficulty reporting production sold. This respondent indicated that he
could tell us how many strawberries were sold in market but not how many were sold through
CSA. He knows that strawberries were sold through CSA but CSA sales are not broken down by
crop. Other respondents experienced this same/similar problem in Section 6. This respondent
ended up leaving the organic production, quantity sold and value columns blank.
Finally, as in Section 3, one respondent didn’t agree with the units used to report production.
This respondent indicated that plum, peach, nectarine (coded as other fruit), apricot (coded as
other fruit), and navel orange production is measured in boxes instead of tons. This issue arose in
Sections 4 and 6 as well. Another respondent commented that there was not enough space given
to write in the unit of measurement.
Recommendation:
1) Emphasize in promotional materials that we need their data no matter how small of an
operation they are or how little of a crop they grow. Approved.
2) There are a number of changes that could be made to the instrument to allow respondents
to report more fruits: List fewer printed fruits in Question 2 to allow more space for
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answering; Add additional rows to Question 2 and move the list of fruits/codes and
question 3 further down the page; If it is not critical to ask for fruit varieties (e.g., navel
oranges, Valencia oranges, etc.), consider collapsing varieties to one type of fruit (e.g.,
oranges); ask respondents who grow more than 10 types of fruits to only report the 10
highest grossing fruits; place the statement “if more space is needed, use a separate sheet
of paper” in bold font. Consider similar changes in other relevant sections. See below.
3) Provide an instruction to respondents in the bulleted list that states, “If production is not
complete, please provide estimates.” Denied. Instructing some to report estimates could prompt all to do the same.
4) Provide a unit column similar to the one in Section 10, which allows respondents to
report in the unit that is applicable to their operation. Denied. The units of each known crop is how the data is published.
5) Provide respondents with more space to enter the unit by shrinking the gross value of
organic production sold columns. Approved.
Recommendation 2) Denied: the crops listed were requested by RMA or the most commonly grown or highest grossing; Denied:varieties are necessary; Approved.

Section 6 – Organic Vegetables Grown in the Open
This section was only probed on if respondent indicated they had a problem when filling out the
survey or if they made an obvious error on the survey.
Question 1
Eight respondents answered “yes” to Question 1 and completed this section. As in previous
sections, respondents had several problems with this section of the survey.
The majority of respondents understood the types of crops that were expected to be reported in
this section; however, one respondent did not know what the phrase “grown in the open” meant.
She thought maybe it meant row crops or crops that were grown for CSA. However, after
reading the title to Section 7 (Organic vegetables grown under protection), she realized what the
phrase “grown in the open” meant. Another respondent did not read the phrase “grown in the
open” and reported crops grown in the open and under protection in this section. She only
realized her mistake after she turned the page to Section 7.
Question 2
As in previous sections, several respondents indicated that there was not enough space provided
to report all of the vegetables they grew. This issue was particularly pronounced in this section.
Respondents handled this issue in different ways. One respondent reported during the interview
that he grows 250 different vegetables a year. He listed out spinach, fresh red, white and yellow
onions, and potatoes and then reported all of his other vegetables in one row under “other.”
Another respondent also reported all of his vegetables that were not listed on the form in a single
row under “other.” In contrast, a couple of other respondents indicated that they would have to
report at least 6 rows of “other” crops as their crops were not listed on the form. One of these
respondent commented that he couldn’t understand why he would have to do this when there are
seven different types of onions listed. Finally, another respondent commented that he grows 50
different types of vegetables. He listed as many as he could (seven vegetables) and did not report
the rest.

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As in the fruit section, respondents were dissatisfied with the types and varieties of vegetables
listed. One respondent commented that very few of the vegetables he grew were broken out. For
example, he grows spinach but not the variety listed. He also grows 14 different types of carrots
and would have to report them all together under one code. Another respondent commented that
there was no distinction made between bell peppers and chili peppers and he would have to
combine them when reporting how much was harvested and produced.
One respondent was very confused by the first three columns in Question 2. When he first read
these columns he asked, “What is harvested and production? Are you asking if it’s produced but
not harvested?” He said he harvests everything unless it’s a cover crop. Later in the interview he
asked, “Are you asking what you planted versus what you harvested?” He said in organic
farming, you have to rotate your crops to get green manure. You may plant something that will
produce a crop that you never intend to harvest. However, he then said that the amount he
produces is the same as the amount sold because he wouldn’t count something as “produced”
unless it was sold. This respondent continued to not see a distinction between these three
columns and ended up leaving the column “Organic Production” blank and filled in data for the
other two. This respondent also did not report organic production in Section 5.
A couple of respondents had difficulty reporting the number of acres harvested in this section.
These respondents did not keep their records in a format that was easy to transfer to this survey.
When completing this section, one respondent commented that he grows a small amount of a lot
of things and for some crops he doesn’t track the yield. When he does track crops, this is done
using daily harvest sheets. He would have to check each of these sheets to accurately report how
much of each crop he harvested. He ended up reporting harvest estimates for the few crops he
reported on the form. Similarly, another respondent commented that she grows a lot of different
vegetables but not in large quantities. Figuring out how much she harvested in terms of acres
would be very time consuming for her. This respondent indicated she would not answer this
question on the survey. Finally, one respondent did not want to report the amount of crops
harvest in acres and tenths. She would rather report the amount harvested in row feet and pounds.
Some respondents also had difficulty reporting the quantity of crops produced for a variety of
reasons similar to the ones reported in Sections 2 and 5. One respondent commented that he
couldn’t report production for certain crops because they are still in production sales. This will
be a problem for crops that are produced after the survey due date. He said he has 200 acres of
vegetables and cover crops that will get harvested in 2015. Other respondents reported that this
difficulty stemmed from the fact that records are not kept for each vegetable in certain types of
sales. For example, one respondent indicated that while he tracks the quantities of vegetables
sold at market, he doesn’t track the quantities of vegetables sold through CSA. He described his
vegetables as ingredients that go in a CSA box and the CSA box is the product that is tracked.
When asked how he would answer this question on the survey, he said he would throw the
survey out and wait for someone to call him. He then said if someone did call, he would just give
them “ballpark figures.” Similarly, another respondent indicated that 25% of his sales are
through farmer’s markets and because these are cash sales there is no way of tracking how much
of each vegetable was sold. Finally, one respondent indicated that she groups vegetables together
in her records. For example, vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are all under one
category in her records and it is difficult for her to separate them out.
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As in previous sections, some respondents indicated that they don’t keep track of organic
production in the units provided. When filling out the survey one respondent commented, “Oh,
you can’t do boxes.” He then asked what we meant by cwt. He said he assumed it meant carton
weight. He indicated that fresh beans and broccoli are usually sold by the box. For example, it
would be easy for him to report that he sold 2,500 boxes of broccoli. He said typically processing
vegetables are sold by the pounds or tons. He ended up reporting beans in cwt, garlic in lbs,
peppers in tons, and “other” vegetables (which was one row for all vegetables that he grew,
which weren’t listed) in pounds. Other respondents also indicated that they would rather report
the number of organic vegetables produced in pounds or in number of vegetables produced (e.g.,
heads of cabbage, fennel bulbs, etc) instead of cwt.
In general some respondents indicated that this section was very tedious for them to fill out given
the variety of vegetables they grow. These respondents all commented on how this form
appeared to be designed for a farmer who grows one or two crops in large volume.
Recommendations:
1) There are a number of changes that could be made to the instrument to allow respondents
to report more vegetables: List fewer printed vegetables in Question 2 to allow more
space for answering; Add additional rows to Question 2 and move the list of
vegetables/codes and question 3 further down the page; If it is not critical to ask for
vegetable varieties (e.g., fresh red onions, fresh white onions, etc.), consider collapsing
varieties to one type of vegetable (e.g., onions); ask respondents who grow more than 10
types of vegetables to only report the 10 highest grossing vegetables; place the statement
“if more space is needed, use a separate sheet of paper” in bold font. See below.
2) Provide an instruction to respondents in the bulleted list that states, “If production is not
complete, please provide estimates.” Denied. Instructing some to report estimates could prompt all to do the same.
3) Provide a unit column similar to the one in Section 10, which allows respondents to
report in the unit that is applicable to their operation. Denied. The units of each known crop is how the data is published.
4) Provide respondents with more space to enter the unit by shrinking the gross value of
organic production sold columns. Approved.
5) Determine if the Organic production column is necessary. If not, remove to save space
and eliminate confusion. Consider doing the same in other applicable sections. Approved (the column is
necessary).
Recommendation 1) Denied: the crops listed were requested by RMA or the most commonly grown or highest grossing; Denied:varieties are necessary; Approved.

Section 7 – Organic Vegetables Grown Under Protection
This section was only probed on if respondents indicated they had a problem when filling out the
survey or if they made an obvious error on the survey.
Question 1
Five respondents answered “yes” to this question and completed this section. Respondents
interpreted this question as asking about crops grown in greenhouses, hoop houses, high tunnels,
under plastic, and under row covers. One respondent, who has a high tunnel and a low tunnel or
caterpillar tunnel, asked whether she should report crops that are under nonpermanent plant
covers. At first she did not think she should include crops under nonpermanent covering but then
10

changed her mind and included them. As mentioned above, one respondent initially included all
of her crops grown under protection in Section 6. After reading the phrase “grown under
protection” in Question 1, she realized her error.
Question 2
It was easier for respondents to report the variety of crops grown under protection than in the
open; however, a couple of respondents still indicated that they grow a variety of vegetables
under protection in a small amount of space. One respondent commented that a lot of the
vegetables he grows under protection would have to be listed as “other” and that there was not
enough space available to list all of them.
When reporting the amount of vegetables harvested, a couple of respondents wrote in the size of
the covered structure. For example, one respondent who only grew tomatoes under protection
wrote in 90 x 36. However, another respondent listed all of her vegetables on separate rows but
then wrote in 30 x 96’ in the first cell of the harvest column.
Two respondents also indicated that it is difficult for them to report the production sales and
values. One respondent indicated that his crop had not been sold yet. This will only be an issue if
this crop is sold after the survey due date. The other respondent could not report the organic
production as she did not have the figures available. She then wrote “all” in for organic
production sold as organic and $1000 in the gross value column.
As in previous sections, one respondent did not agree with the units provided for reporting
production and sales. This respondent wanted to report the number of plants for produced.
Recommendations:
1) There are a number of changes that could be made to the instrument to allow respondents
to report more vegetables: List fewer printed vegetables in Question 2 to allow more
space for answering; Add additional rows to Question 2 and move the list of
vegetables/codes and question 3 further down the page; If it is not critical to ask for
vegetable varieties (e.g., fresh red onions, fresh white onions, etc.), consider collapsing
varieties to one type of vegetable (e.g., onions); ask respondents who grow more than 10
types of vegetables to only report the 10 highest grossing vegetables; place the statement
“if more space is needed, use a separate sheet of paper” in bold font. See below.
2) Provide an instruction to respondents in the bulleted list that states, “If production is not
complete, please provide estimates.” Denied. Instructing some to report estimates could prompt all to do the same.
3) Provide a unit column similar to the one in Section 10, which allows respondents to
report in the unit that is applicable to their operation. Denied. The units of each known crop is how the data is published.
4) Provide respondents with more space to enter the unit by shrinking the gross value of
organic production sold columns. Approved.
Recommendation 1) Denied: the crops listed were requested by RMA or the most commonly grown or highest grossing; Denied:varieties are necessary; Approved.

Section 8 – Organic Floriculture Crops, Nursery Crops, Mushrooms, Christmas Trees, and
Maple Syrup

11

This section was only probed on if respondents indicated they had a problem when filling out the
survey or if they made an obvious error on the survey.
Question 1
Only one respondent answered “yes” to this question; however he was not probed on his
understanding of the question and did not exhibit any errors. Another respondent began to
answer this question but then stopped and commented that he did not think edible flowers were
included under floriculture. He stated that flowers are typically defined as things people don’t
eat; however he grows them for consumption. He generally reports them under vegetables on
surveys. He grows about 7-8 different varieties on 4 acres of land. He answered “no” to this
question.
Recommendation: None
Section 9 – Organic Acres under Crop Insurance
This section was only probed on if respondents indicated they had a problem when filling out the
survey or if they made an obvious error on the survey.
Questions 1 and 2
All but one respondent answered “no” to this question. The one respondent who answered “yes”
to this question indicated that he has 99% of his crops covered by crop insurance because he
doesn’t believe coverage is available for one of his crops (persimmons). A respondent, who
answered “no” to this question, missed the skip instructing him to go to item 2 and as a result did
not complete the remainder of the section. This respondent indicated during probing that he
thinks insurance is generally unavailable for the types of crops he grows. He then added that for
the crops that could be covered he doesn’t grow enough to make it worthwhile. Other
respondents who did answer Question 2 commented that crop insurance was too expensive or
that they didn’t know it existed for their type of crops.
Recommendation: None
Section 10 – GMO Presence in Organic Crops
Question 1
Most respondents were happy to see this section on the questionnaire. One respondent even
exclaimed “It’s about time!” Respondents were familiar with the term GMO and said that it
meant the same thing as GE. Respondents generally understood this question as asking if they
experienced cross-pollination from GMO crop material drifting into their organic fields. For
example, one respondent stated that this question was asking, “Were crops I grew contaminated,
cross-pollinated, by GMO crops and no longer had organic value?” All of the respondents we
interviewed answered “no” to this question. Respondents often commented that they did not
grow crops that could be genetically modified and if they did, they felt they lived far enough
12

away from farms using GMO crops that it wasn’t a problem for them. One respondent mentioned
that she purposively does not grow crops that could be affected by GMO. She pointed out that in
some areas of the country it would be hard for farmers to grow organic crops because of the risk
of cross-pollination but there are no questions on this survey that ask about that.
While most respondents interpreted this question correctly, some respondents thought this
question could include more than just cross-pollination of GMO crops with organic crops. For
example, one respondent also thought this question could include GMO material that was found
in organic feed for poultry. He provided an example of a poultry farmer he knows who found
GMO material in the organic feed he purchased to feed his chickens. In contrast, another
respondent did not think this question would cover organic feed that was purchased and found to
be contaminated by GMO since the question states “in an organic crop you have offered for
sale.” This respondent interpreted this question as asking, “Did you grow a crop, harvest it, and
try to sell it but the buyer tested it and found GMO?” He also did not think this question would
include crops you cannot plant because you discover there’s GMO in the seed. This same
respondent then pointed out that GMO in one crop affects next year’s crop as well and this
question doesn’t measure the losses that pursue after the GMO is found in an organic crop. A
couple of respondents also thought this question could include instances where organic crops
were sprayed with chemicals. However, other respondents questioned whether damage to
organic crops from the drift or spraying of chemicals would count in this question. For example,
one respondent discussed how a friend’s crops were inadvertently sprayed by a crop duster. But
she wasn’t sure this would be measured in this question. Note that this did not lead to response
error because all of these respondents answered “no” to this question indicated that they have
never experienced the types of contamination they discussed.
Question 1a
No respondents answered this question. This made it very difficult to probe on this question.
However a few respondents were probed on the terms used in Question 1a. Two respondents
indicated that they interpreted “crop” to refer to the intended organic crop that was affected by
GMO material. One respondent commented that he did not think it was useful to report the GMO
crop because often you would not know the source of the GMO contamination. Four respondents
were probed on their understanding of loss and these respondents all indicated that they
interpreted this column as asking about loss in value. That is, the loss resulting from not selling
the contaminated organic crop or from selling the organic crop as conventional.
Recommendations: None
Section 11 – Organic Livestock, Poultry, and Livestock Products
No respondents answered this section or were probed on this section.
Recommendation: None
Section 12 – Production Expenses

13

One respondent glanced at this section at the end of the interview. He stated that we should make
sure this section is aligned with Schedule F of the tax forms for farms. He said it also might be
better to ask for the previous year’s expenses and to move the due date of the survey to after the
due date for taxes.
Recommendation:
1) Check to see if this section is consistent with the layout of Schedule F.
Section 13 – Organic Production Practices

Denied. The section is formatted in standard
questionnaire form and not possible to align
with tax forms.

No respondents answered this section or were probed on this section.
Recommendation: None
Section 14 – Marketing Practices for Organic Products
Question 3
One respondent looked over this section of the survey at the end of the interview. He commented
that he would have a hard time answering this question as he does not always know where his
products are sold. His products are often sold through a third party and he just knows the price
they were was sold at. He understood that this question was asking about the first point of sale
but he questioned whether the question was intending to measure the first point of sale or where
the products actually end up.
Recommendation: None
Question 3 (Sections 3-5)
Two respondents did not answer this question when answering particular sections of the survey.
One respondent answered this question in Section 6 but then missed it in Section 7. The other
respondent answered this question in Section 5 but then missed it in Section 6.
Five respondents were probed on their understanding of the term “marketing contract
arrangement.” Respondents did not appear to interpret this question correctly. One respondent,
who answered “no” to this question in the relevant sections, stated that he had never heard of this
term before. He guessed that it meant you had a broker that sells your product and pays you in
the end. He said they wouldn’t take possession of the product, they would just sell it. This
respondent sells directly to grocery stores, wholesale distributors, and a restaurant distributor and
these exchanges are done under verbal agreements. Another respondent, who also answered “no”
to this question interpreted this term as meaning she sold her products to someone else and they
did something with them. She indicated that she had no such contracts. Three other respondents
had a more definitive understanding of this term. These respondents, who answered “no” to this
question, all interpreted this term as referring to a contract with a fixed price arrangement. Two
of these respondents added that crops that are grown for processing are often under this type of
contract, whereas fresh crops are sold at market prices. All three of these respondents indicated
14

that they had written or verbal agreements that stated their crops would be sold at the highest
attainable prices on the given day and they did not view these agreements as marketing contract
agreements. One respondent indicated that had the word “contract” been removed from the term,
he would have answered “yes” to the question. To him, the word contract indicated that there
was a set price in the agreement.
Recommendations:
Denied. Moving the question up will interrupt the
1) Move this question to above the list of crops/codes in Sections 3-5 flow of the section.
2) Change this question to “What percent of the total Organic XXXX reported above were
sold by another party for market prices?” Approved.
Other General Comments
One respondent indicated that he was unsure if he should complete this survey as a producer or
as a processor since his operation produces and processes organic crops. He said this issue arises
a lot for him when completing our surveys.
One respondent indicated that the amount of acres he reported throughout the survey would not
total to the number of acres reported in Section 1. This is because of double-cropping. Other
respondents also mentioned growing several different types of vegetables on the same field
throughout the year.
In general, 45 minutes appeared to be an adequate amount of time to complete this survey.
However, some respondents indicated that they would not report all of the crops they grew due
to space limitations and the amount of time it would take. One respondent indicated that he
would not complete the survey if he received it.
Finally, one respondent indicated at the end of the interview that there is an important question
that we do not ask on this survey. That is, what is the expected increase or decrease in future
production for specific commodities? He said we could ask about in terms of quantity or value.
He is concerned about the trends in organic production. To him, it’s most useful to know how
much increase or decrease in specific commodities can be expected in the upcoming year.
Contact Information
If you have questions about the cognitive testing for the 2014 Organic Survey, contact Heather
Ridolfo at heather.ridolfo@nass.usda.gov or by phone 703-877-8000 x144.
If you have questions about the 2014 Organic Survey in general, contact Gina Geffrard at
gina.geffrard@nass.usda.gov or by phone 202-720-7734.

15

References
Strauss, Anselm C., and Juliet Corbin. 1990. Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory
Procedures and Techniques. Newbury Park: Sage Publications.

16

Appendix A: Interview Protocol

2014 Organic Survey
Cognitive Interview Protocol
September 24, 2014
Please read this entire document before conducting any interviews to become familiar with the
data collection procedures, survey questions, and probes.
Background
The 2014 Organic Survey is a data collection project conducted for the Risk Management
Agency (RMA); Census funds will also be used as directed by the 2014 Farm Appropriations
bill. The survey is an organic production and practices survey which has been previously
conducted in 2008 and 2011. The population of interest is any operation that produces organic
products according to USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) standards and is certified or
exempt from certification. The population also contains operations that reported in the 2012
Census of Agriculture that they were transitioning to organic. The questionnaire collects
information on organic production of field crops, vegetables, fruits, tree nuts, berries, livestock
and poultry, production practices, production expenses, marketing practices and value-added
production and processing.
Research Goals
A new section has been added to the 2014 questionnaire (Section 10), which asks about GMO
presence in organic crops. The primary objective of the cognitive interviewing is to evaluate
respondents’ comprehension of questions in this section and the quality of data reported.
Sample
Since OMB clearance was not obtained for this testing, we will only be conducting a total of 9
interviews. Interviews will be conducted in the following states: CA, OR, OH, VA, MD.
The sample will include operations that grow organic crops and are certified or exempt from
certification.
Cognitive Interviewing Procedures
Recruitment
Interviewers in each state are responsible for recruiting respondents. Interviewers may recruit
known organic operations in their area that are certified or exempt from certification. We also
encourage interviewers to search local CSAs for organic producers.

17

See screener questionnaire at the end of this document. Please only recruit operations that have
organic crops. Please do not recruit any operations that have livestock only. Operations with
organic crops are needed to test Section 10.
Respondents should be informed of the intent of the cognitive interviews during the recruitment
process and that their participation is voluntary. Respondents should also be told the interviews
will be conducted in person and are expected to last 1 hr – 1 ½ hours (depending on number of
crops they grow).
Interview Procedures
Each interviewer is expected to conduct 1 interview. Interviewers should bring a copy of the
interview guide and blank questionnaire with them to the interview (see attached). Interviewers
should explain the task to the respondent at the start of the interview. See script at top of
interview guide. Because we have a limited amount of time with the respondents we are going to
focus our efforts on testing Section 10. The following procedures should be followed during the
interview.
All respondents should complete Sections 1 -10 on their own. Have respondents stop after they
complete section 10. Ask the respondents to circle any questions they don’t understand or are
having difficulty answering and tell them you will review those questions after they are done
filling out the survey. Also, if you notice respondents having any problems filling out the survey,
make a note of it and review the issue with them after they complete the survey.
Probing
Due to time constraints we will focus the majority of our probing on Section 10. For Sections 1 –
9 we just want to make sure that respondents can easily navigate through these sections and fill
out the information completely. We also want to see if respondents feel 45 minutes in a
reasonable amount of time to complete this survey.
After the respondent completes Sections 1-9, review the questionnaire to make sure the
respondent filled out all appropriate questions and didn’t miss anything. You may ask emergent
probes for these sections as needed. Emergent probes could include things like: I see you didn’t
answer this question. Why did you not answer it? Did you have difficulty understanding this
question? Remember to follow up on any questions the respondent had difficulty answering:
What did you think this question was asking? Why did you answer the way you did? What was
confusing to you about this question? Why did you have difficulty answering this question?
Section 10
The majority of the interview should focus on Section 10. Note you will probe on this section
even if respondents answered “no” to question 1 in this section. Please ask the probes listed and
any necessary emergent probes.
Section 10 contains a new question which asks about GMO presence in organic crops.
18

For question 1, we are interested in evaluating the appropriateness of the term “GMO”. There is
concern that this term may be misleading and it would be more appropriate to use the term “GE.”
Probe: What do you think this question is asking? When this question asks if you have
experienced economic losses that you can document due to unintended presence of GMO
materials in an organic crop, how did you interpret GMO materials? What came to mind? Is this
a term you use to describe the type of materials? If needed: What other term would you prefer?
If the respondent answers “yes” to this question, ask: Why did you answer yes?
If a respondent answers “no” to this question, ask: Have you ever found GMO material in your
crops? If yes: Can you tell me about this? What was the GMO? What crops did it affect? How
much of the crop was affected? How did you handle this? Did this lead to any loss in sales?
For question 1A, we want to make sure respondents can understand the instructions and fill the
table out correctly. See probes below for each column.

Year: GE crops were first regulated by the USDA in 1986. Our hope is that respondents will
report the most recent years they had GMO presence since 1986; however, this question gives no
indication of this. We are interested in learning which years respondents report and why they
report these years.
Probes: Why did you report these years? Can you tell me about the loss that occurred in these
years? In necessary: Are these the most recent years? If not: Can you tell me about the loss in
these more recent years? Why didn’t you report these years?
Crop: In this column, respondents are supposed to report the organic crop that was affected by
GMO material. We want to make sure this is clear. There is concern that respondents will report

19

the GMO crop that affected the organic crop. We also want to probe on what the affecting crop
was.
Probes: Was the crop reported here the crop that was affected by GMO? What was the GMO
crop that affected this crop?
Loss ($/unit): We want to know how respondents interpret economic loss ($/unit) and how they
come up with the numbers used to calculate loss. We also want to make sure respondents are
only thinking about loss due to GMO presence and not loss due to other things
such as drought or cost of buffer rows.
Probes: How did you calculate loss? How did you come up with the numbers used in this
calculation? How did you formulate the dollar amount? What is the unit? Did you only consider
loss that resulted from the GMO material?
Interview Notes
Interviewers are expected to spend up to one hour per interview writing and summarizing their
notes from that interview. Please provide detailed notes form the interviews. Notes should be
emailed to Heather Ridolfo (heather.ridolfo@nass.usda.gov) no later than October 3, 2014.

20

Screener Questionnaire
Hi, my name is and I am calling from the United States Department of Agriculture,
National Agricultural Statistics Service. We are contacting operations to ask for help in testing
the 2014 Organic Survey. This survey will provide important information on organic production
across the United States. Is this something that you’d be willing to speak to us about?
In order to improve the quality of the data and the ease of reporting, we would like to get your
feedback on the questionnaire. This would take about an hour of your time and I could schedule
a time that is convenient for you. During this time I will ask you to complete a portion of the
survey and provide your feedback on how we can improve the questionnaire. Could I schedule a
time to meet with you and get your input on this questionnaire?
One of the criteria for this testing is you must have organic crops according to USDA’s National
Organic Program standards and are either certified or exempt from certification (under $5,000 in
annual sales).
Does your operation have organic crops according to NOP standards and is certified or exempt
from certification?
YES – [Continue]
NO - [Thank respondent for their time and hang up]
This means you are eligible to help us out. I have the following days and timeframes open.

Which of these days and times works best for you?
I will call you to confirm the appointment a day or two before. If you need to change the
appointment time, please call me back at .

21

2014 Organic Survey
Cognitive Interview Guide
September 24, 2014
Interviewer:
Respondent:
Date:
Before we begin, I want to tell you a little more about the project and what we will be doing today. The
2014 Organic Survey is a data collection project conducted for the Risk Management Agency (RMA). The
Organic Production Survey is the only wide scale survey of Organic farming in the United States.
This survey was last conducted in 2011. We recently made some changes to the Organic questionnaire.
Before we send the questionnaire out to the public we want to ensure that everyone understands these
questions in the same way and that we are collecting the type of information we intend to. We are
asking people like you to review the questionnaire with us to see if the new questions make sense to you
and you are able to accurately answer the questions.
First, I’ll have you fill out specific parts of the questionnaire on your own. Please fill it out as if you
received it in the mail and as if you were filling it out without me here. If you have any questions or
difficulty answering a question, just circle the question and we will discuss it when you are done. After
you have completed each part of the questionnaire we will go back over the questions you answered. I
am also going to ask you some follow-up questions on why you answered the way you did and what
certain things meant to you when you answered. This will help us make sure that everyone who receives
this questionnaire understands the questions and that it is easy to complete. Again, all of your answers
and everything we discuss today will be kept completely confidential.
Do you have any questions on what we’re going to be doing today before we start?
[Hand the respondent the questionnaire and ask them to complete Sections 1 – 10]
Sections 1 – 9
Ask all respondents: In the survey instructions, we indicate that this survey will take on average 45
minutes to complete. Did you read this when completing the survey? How long do you think this survey
would take you to complete on your own?
Ask emergent probes as necessary:
I see you didn’t answer this question. Why did you not answer it? Did you have difficulty understanding
this question?
22

Remember to follow up on any questions the respondent had difficulty answering:
What did you think this question was asking? Why did you answer the way you did? What was confusing
to you about this question? Why did you have difficulty answering this question?
Section 1:

Section 2:

Section 3:

Section 4:

Section 5:

Section 6:

Section 7:

Section 8:

Section 9:

23

Section 10

What do you think this question is asking?

When this question asks if you have experienced economic losses that you can document due to
unintended presence of GMO materials in an organic crop, how did you interpret GMO materials? What
came to mind?

Is this a term you use to describe the type of materials? If needed: What other term would you prefer?

If the respondent answers “yes” to question 1a, ask: Why did you answer yes? Tell me about this
experience.

If a respondent answers “no” to question 1a, ask: Have you ever found GMO material in your crops?

If yes: Can you tell me about this? What was the GMO? What crops did it affect? How much of the crop
was affected? How did you handle this? Did this lead to any loss in sales?

Years: Why did you report these years? Can you tell me about the loss that occurred in these years?

24

In necessary: Are these the most recent years? If not: Can you tell me about the loss in these more recent
years? Why didn’t you report these years?

Crop: Was/were the crop(s) reported here the crop that was affected by GMO?

What was/were the GMO crop(s) that affected this crop?

Loss ($/unit): How did you calculate loss? How did you come up with the numbers used in this
calculation? How did you formulate the dollar amount? What is the unit?

Did you only consider loss that resulted from the GMO material?

25

Appendix B - Questionnaire Used During Testing

26

OMB No. 0535-0249: Approval Expires 07/31/2017

2014 ORGANIC SURVEY
Form Number: 14-A623
(09/23/2014) Draft 7

United States
Department of
Agriculture

14-A623

National
Agricultural
Statistics
Service

Risk
Management
Agency
U.S. Department of Agricultural
National Agricultural Statistics Service
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250-2000
Phone: 1-888-424-7828
Fax: 202-690-2090
E-mail: nass@nass.usda.gov

Please make corrections to name, address, and ZIP code, if necessary.
The information you provide will be used for statistical purposes only. In accordance with the Confidential Information Protection provisions
of Title V, Subtitle A, Public Law 107-347 and other applicable Federal laws, your responses will be kept confidential and will not be
disclosed in identifiable form to anyone other than employees or agents. By law, every employee and agent has taken an oath and is
subject to a jail term, a fine, or both if he or she willfully discloses ANY identifiable information about you or your operation. Response
to this inquiry is required by law (Title 7, U.S. Code).
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to,
a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB number is 0535-0249. The time required to
complete this information collection is estimated to average 45 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

SECTION 1
1.

OPERATION INFORMATION

Did this operation have any Certified Organic production as determined by the USDA’s National Organic Program
(NOP) standards in 2014?
111

Yes - What is the name of the certifying agency or organization?

C

119

– Go to Item 2
No - Did this operation have any USDA NOP organic production in 2014 that was exempt from certification
(under $5,000 in annual organic sales)? (Exclude transitional acres.)
113

Yes - Go to Item 2

2.

3.
4.

No - Go to Section 16, Transitional Acreage on Page 15
Organic Acres
Exempt from
Certification

Certified
Organic Acres

In 2014, how many:
a. Organic acres did this operator own?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

150

b. Organic acres did this operator rent or lease from others?. . . . . . . .

152

+

153

c. Organic acres did this operator rent or lease to others?. . . . . . . . . .

115

-

117

[Calculate Items 2a + 2b - 2c] Then the total organic acres
operated in 2014 were: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

154

Of the total (Item 3) organic acres operated in 2014, how many
acres were organic pastureland or rangeland? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

122

151

=

155

156

21804018

§6qI3¤

2

SECTION 2
1.

ORGANIC FIELD CROPS

Did this operation grow any organic small grains, row crops, oilseeds, hay/forage, or pulse crops in 2014?
• Include landlord’s share and contractor’s share. Exclude personal or home use crops.
2000

No - Go to Section 3

Yes - Complete this Section
2.

For those crops not printed in the following table, enter the crop name and code from the list below for any other field
crop grown on this operation in 2014.
• Exclude from both Quantity Sold and Gross Value Sold, any production used to make value-added products on
this operation. Report value-added products and sales in Section 14, Item 4.
• Report production in the unit specified for the crop name.
• When both dry hay and haylage were cut from the same acres, report for each type.
• If two or more cuttings were made from the same acres, report acres harvested for that item only once but report
total production from all cuttings.
Organic
Acres

Field Crops

Code Harvested

Organic

QUANTITY of
Organic
Production Sold As:

Production

Corn (for grain
2040
or seed)
Winter Wheat
(for grain or seed) 2360

Organic

GROSS VALUE of
Organic
Production Sold As:

Conventional

Organic

Conventional

bu

bu

bu

$

.00 $

.00

bu

bu

bu

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

If more space is needed, use a separate sheet of paper.
Crops
Barley for grain or seed (bu) . . . . . . .
Buckwheat (bu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Canola, edible (lbs) . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Corn silage or greenchop (tons) . . . .
Cotton, Upland (bales) . . . . . . . . . . .
Cotton, Pima (bales) . . . . . . . . . . . .
Flaxseed (bu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hay, Alfalfa & Alfalfa Mixtures
for dry hay (tons). . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hay, All Other Dry (tons) . . . . . . . . .
Haylage, Other silage or
Greenchop (tons). . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Herbs, dried (lbs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hops (lbs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mint, Peppermint (lbs of oil) . . . . . . .
Mint, Spearmint (lbs of oil) . . . . . . . .
Oats, grain or seed (bu). . . . . . . . . .
Peanuts, Spanish (lbs). . . . . . . . . . .
Peanuts, Runner (lbs) . . . . . . . . . . .
Peanuts, Virginia (lbs) . . . . . . . . . . .
Peanuts, Valencia (lbs) . . . . . . . . . . .
Popcorn (lbs shelled) . . . . . . . . . . . .
Potatoes report in Section 6
Proso Millet (bu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Code
. 2010
. 2020
. 2030
. 2050
. 2060
. 2070
. 2080
. 2090
. 2100
. 2110
. 2120
. 2130
. 2140
. 2150
. 2160
. 2170
. 2180
. 2190
. 2200
. 2210
. 2220

Crops
Rice, long grain (cwt). . . . . . . .
Rice, medium grain (cwt) . . . . .
Rice, short grain (cwt) . . . . . . .
Rice, cultivated wild (finished
weight, cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rice, Other wild (finished
weight, cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rye for grain or seed (bu) . . . .
Safflower (lbs). . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sorghum for grain or seed,
including milo (bu) . . . . . . . . . .

Code
. . . . . 2230
. . . . . 2240
. . . . . 2250
. . . . . 2260
. . . . . 2270
. . . . . 2280
. . . . . 2290
. . . . . 2300

Sorghum for silage or
greenchop (tons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Soybeans,for beans (bu) . . . . . . . . . .
Sugarcane for sugar (tons). . . . . . . . .
Sunflower seed, oil (lbs). . . . . . . . . . .
Sunflower seed, non-oil (lbs). . . . . . . .
Wheat, Durham for grain or
seed (bu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Wheat, Other Spring for
grain or seed (bu) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other field Crops, specify above (lbs).
Dry Edible Beans
Black (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blackeye (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2310
2320
2330
2340
2350
2370
2380
2390

Crops
Great Northern (cwt) . . . . . . . .
Kidney, Dark Red (cwt) . . . . . .
Kidney, Light Red (cwt) . . . . . .
Lima, Large (cwt). . . . . . . . . . .
Lima, Baby (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . .
Navy (cwt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pink (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pinto (cwt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Yellow Eye (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . .
Other dry beans (cwt) . . . . . . .
Dry Peas
Smooth green peas (cwt) . . . . .
Yellow Dry Peas (cwt) . . . . . . .

Code
. . . . . 2420
. . . . . 2430
. . . . . 2440
. . . . . 2450
. . . . . 2460
. . . . . 2470
. . . . . 2480
. . . . . 2490
. . . . . 2500
. . . . . 2510

.
.
Austrian Winter Peas (cwt). . . . .
Lentils (cwt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other dry peas (cwt) . . . . . . . . .
Chickpeas
(Garbanzo)
Kabuli, small (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . .
Kabuli, large (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . .
Desi (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other chickpeas (cwt) . . . . . . . .

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.
.

2520
2530
2540
2550
2560

. . . . 2570
. . . . 2580
. . . . 2590
. . . . 2600

2400
2410

21804026

§6qI;¤

3

SECTION 3
1.

ORGANIC GRAPES

Did this operation grow any organic grapes in 2014?
• Include landlord’s share and contractor’s share. Exclude personal or home use crops.
5000

Yes - Complete this Section

No - Go to Section 4
ORGANIC GRAPES

2.

Total Organic Grapes

Acres

Tenths

Tons

Tenths

a. How many acres of bearing age organic grapes were harvested on this operation in 2014?
• Please report acres to the tenth of an acre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5020
b. What were the total tons of organic grape production on this operation in 2014?
• Please report production to the tenth of a ton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5021

c. Of these total tons of organic grapes harvested in 2014, how many were sold for each utilization listed below:
• Exclude from both Quantity sold and Gross Value Sold, any production used to make value added products
on this operation (such as wine). Report value added products in Section 14, Item 4.
• Please report production sold to the tenth of a ton.
QUANTITY of
Organic
Production Sold As:
Grape Utilization

Code

Organic
(Tons)

(Tenths)

GROSS VALUE of
Organic
Production Sold As:

Conventional

Organic

Conventional

(Tons)

(Dollars)

(Dollars)

(Tenths)

Fresh (Table Use)

5040

$

.00 $

.00

Wine Production

5060

$

.00 $

.00

Juice Production

5080

$

.00 $

.00

Raisins

5100

$

.00 $

.00

Other Processing Uses

5120

$

.00 $

.00

None

3.

What percent of Total Organic Grapes reported above were sold
and delivered under a marketing contract arrangement? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21804034

Percent

5999

§6qIC¤

%

4

SECTION 4
1.

ORGANIC APPLES

Did this operation grow any organic apples in 2014?
• Include landlord’s share and contractor’s share. Exclude personal or home use crops.
4000

Yes - Complete this Section
2.

No - Go to Section 5

Acreage, Production, Quantity, and Gross Value Sold – For those organic apple varieties not printed in the following
table, enter the variety name and code from the list below.
• Include production that was sold and will be sold.
• Exclude from both Quantity Sold and Gross Value Sold, any production used to make value added products on
this operation (such as cider). Report value added products in Section 14, Item 4.
Organic
Acres
Harvested

Apple
Variety

Unit Pounds

Organic (Bins,
lbs,
Production Boxes,

Code Acres Tenths

per
Unit

QUANTITY of
Organic
Production Sold As:
Organic

etc.)

GROSS VALUE of
Organic
Production Sold As:
Organic

Conventional

Conventional

Fuji fresh
Fuji
processing

4010

$

.00 $

.00

4020

$

.00 $

.00

Gala fresh
Gala
processing

4030

$

.00 $

.00

4040

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

If more space is needed, use a separate sheet of paper.
Apple Varieties
Braeburn, fresh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Braeburn, processing. . . . . . . . . . . .
Cameo, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cameo, processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cortland, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cortland, processing . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cripps Pink, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cripps Pink, processing . . . . . . . . . .
Empire, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Empire, processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enterprise, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enterprise, processing. . . . . . . . . . . .
Ginger Gold, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ginger Gold, processing . . . . . . . . . .
Gold Rush, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Code
. 4050
. 4060
. 4070
. 4080
. 4090
. 4100
. 4110
. 4120
. 4130
. 4140
. 4150
. 4160
. 4170
. 4180
. 4190

Apple Varieties
Gold Rush, processing. . . . . . . . . . .
Golden Delicious, fresh . . . . . . . . . .
Golden Delicious, processing . . . . . .
Granny Smith, fresh. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Granny Smith, processing . . . . . . . .
Honeycrisp, fresh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Honeycrisp, processing . . . . . . . . . .
Idared, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Idared, processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jazz, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jazz, processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jonagold, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jonagold, processing . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jonathan, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jonathan, processing. . . . . . . . . . . .

Code
. 4200
. 4210
. 4220
. 4230
. 4240
. 4250
. 4260
. 4270
. 4280
. 4290
. 4300
. 4310
. 4320
. 4330
. 4340

Apple Varieties
Lady Alice, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lady Alice, processing . . . . . . . . . . .
Liberty, fresh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Liberty, processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
McIntosh, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
McIntosh, processing . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pinova, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pinova, processing. . . . . . . . . .
Red Delicious, fresh. . . . . . . . .
Red Delicious, processing . . . .
Rome, fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

....
....
....
....
....

. 4350
. 4360
. 4370
. 4380
. 4390
. 4400
. 4410
. 4420
. 4430
. 4440
. 4450
. 4460

Rome, processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other varieties, specify
above fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4470
Other varieties, specify
above processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4480

None

3.

Code

What percent of total Organic Apples reported above were sold
and delivered under a marketing contract arrangement? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21804042

Percent

4999

§6qIK¤

%

5

SECTION 5
1.

OTHER ORGANIC FRUITS, TREE NUTS, AND BERRIES

Did this operation grow any other organic fruits, tree nuts, or berries in 2014?
• Include landlord’s share and contractor’s share. Exclude personal or home use crops.
6000

No - Go to Section 6

Yes - Complete this Section
2.

For those crops not printed in the following table, enter the crop name and code from the list below for any other
organic fruits, tree nuts, or berries grown on this operation in 2014.
• Exclude from both Quantity Sold and Gross Value Sold, any production used to make value-added products
on this operation. Report value-added products and sales in Section 14, Item 4.
• Report organic Grapes in Section 3 and Apples in Section 4.
• For two or more pickings of the same crop, report acres harvested for that item only once but report total
production from all pickings.
Organic
Acres
Harvested

Fruits, Tree
Nuts, and
Berries

Organic
Production

Code Acres Tenths

Blueberries,
fresh
Blueberries,
processing
Blueberries,
wild

QUANTITY of
Organic
Production Sold As:
Organic

GROSS VALUE of
Organic
Production Sold As:

Conventional

Conventional

Organic

6310

lbs

lbs

lbs

$

.00 $

.00

6320

lbs

lbs

lbs

$

.00 $

.00

6330

lbs

lbs

lbs

$

.00 $

.00

Plums/Prunes

6150

tons

tons

tons

$

.00 $

.00

Tangerines

6160

tons

tons

tons

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

If more space is needed, use a separate sheet of paper.
Fruits
Apples, report in Section 4
Avocados (tons). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cherries, sweet (tons) . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cherries, tart (lbs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Coffee (lbs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dates (tons). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Figs (tons). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Grapes, report in Section 3

Code
. 6010
. 6020
. 6030
. 6040
. 6050
. 6070

Fruits
Grapefruit (tons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lemons (tons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Oranges, navel (tons) . . . . . . . . . . .
Oranges, Valencia (tons) . . . . . . . . .
Oranges, all other (tons) . . . . . . . . .
Peaches, all (tons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pears, all (tons). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other Fruits, specify above (tons) . . .

Code
. 6080
. 6090
. 6100
. 6110
. 6120
. 6130
. 6140
. 6170

Tree Nuts

Code

Almonds (lbs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6200
Hazelnuts/Filberts (tons). . . . . . . . . . . 6210
Pecans, all (lbs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6220
Pistachios (lbs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6230
Walnuts, English (tons). . . . . . . . . . . . 6240
Other Nuts, specify above (lbs) . . . . . . 6250

Berrries

Code

Blackberries and Dewberries (lbs) . . .
Cranberries (barrels) . . . . . . . . . . . .
Raspberries (lbs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Strawberries (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other Berries, specify above (lbs) . . .

None

3.

What percent of total Other Organic Fruits, Tree Nuts, and Berries reported
above were sold and delivered under a marketing contract arrangement? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21804059

. 6300
. 6340
. 6350
. 6360
. 6370

Percent

6999

§6qI\¤

%

6

SECTION 6
1.

ORGANIC VEGETABLES GROWN IN THE OPEN

Did this operation grow any organic vegetables in the open in 2014?
• Include landlord’s share and contractor’s share. Exclude personal or home use crops.
3000

Yes - Complete this Section
2.

No - Go to Section 7

For those organic crops not printed in the following table, enter the crop name and code from the list below for any
other vegetables grown in the open on this operation in 2014.
• Exclude from both Quantity Sold and Value Sold, any production used to make value added products on this
operation. Report value-added products and sales in Section 14, Item 4.
• If more than one vegetable crop was harvested from the same acres, report acres for each crop.
• For two or more pickings of the same crop, report acres harvested for that item only once but report total
production from all pickings.
Organic
Acres
Harvested

Vegetables

Organic
Production

Code Acres Tenths

Tomatoes
fresh
Tomatoes
processing
Carrots

QUANTITY of
Organic
Production Sold As:
Organic

GROSS VALUE of
Organic
Production Sold As:

Conventional

Organic

Conventional

3310

cwt

cwt

cwt

$

.00 $

.00

3320

tons

tons

tons

$

.00 $

.00

3090

cwt

cwt

cwt

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

If more space is needed, use a separate sheet of paper.
Vegetables

Code

Vegetables

Code

Artichokes (cwt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3010
Beans, Snap, fresh (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . 3020
Beans, Snap, processing (tons) . . . . . 3030
Broccoli (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3040
Cabbage, green (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3060
Cabbage, red (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3070
Cabbage, other (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3050
Cantaloupes and Muskmelons (cwt). . 3080

Garlic (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Herbs fresh cut (lbs) . . . . . . . .
Honeydew Melons (cwt). . . . . .
Lettuce, all (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . .
Onions, dry (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . .
Onions, fresh, red (cwt) . . . . . .
Onions, fresh, white (cwt). . . . .
Onions, fresh, yellow (cwt) . . . .

. . . . . 3120
. . . . . 3130
. . . . . 3140
. . . . . 3150
. . . . . 3160
. . . . . 3170
. . . . . 3180
. . . . . 3190

Cauliflower (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3100
Celery (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3110

Onions, processing, red (cwt) . . . . . . . 3200
Onions, processing, white (cwt). . . . . . 3210

Vegetables
Onions, processing, yellow (cwt). . . .
Peas, Green (tons) . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Peppers, Bell (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Potatoes (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spinach (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Squash, all (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. 3220
3230
3240
3250
3260
3270
Sweet Corn (cwt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3280
Sweet Potatoes (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3290
Watermelons (cwt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3330
Other Vegetables (cwt), specify above. . 3340

None

3.

Code

What percent of the total Organic Vegetables Grown in the Open reported above
were sold and delivered under a marketing contract arrangement? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21804067

.
.
.
.
.

Percent

3999

§6qId¤

%

7

SECTION 7
1.

ORGANIC VEGETABLES GROWN UNDER PROTECTION

Did this operation grow any organic vegetables under protection in 2014?
• Include vegetable crops grown under glass, rigid plastic, and plastic film, including “tunnel” protection and hoop
houses. Include landlord’s share and contractor’s share.
• Exclude personal or home use crops.
3900

Yes - Complete this Section
2.

No - Go to Section 8

For those organic crops not printed in the following table, enter the crop name and code from the list below for any
other vegetables grown under protection on this operation in 2014.
• Exclude from both Quantity Sold and Value Sold, any production used to make value added products on this
operation. Report value-added products and sales in Section 14, Item 4.
• If more than one vegetable crop was harvested from the same area, report area for each crop.
• For two or more pickings of the same crop, report area harvested for that item only once but report total
production from all pickings.
Organic
Area
Harvested

Vegetables

Tomatoes
fresh

Organic
Production

Square Feet
Under Glass
or Other
Code Protection Hundredweight
3300

QUANTITY of
Organic
Production Sold As:

Organic

cwt

GROSS VALUE of
Organic
Production Sold As:

Conventional
cwt

Organic

cwt

Conventional

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

$

.00 $

.00

If more space is needed, use a separate sheet of paper.
Vegetables
Artichokes (cwt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Beans, Snap, fresh (cwt) . . . . . . . . .
Beans, Snap, processing, (tons) . . . .
Broccoli (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cabbage, green (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cabbage, red (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cabbage, other (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cantaloupes (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Carrots (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Code
. 3520
. 3530
. 3540
. 3550
. 3570
. 3580
. 3560
. 3590
. 3510

Cauliflower (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3600
Celery (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3610

Vegetables
Garlic (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Herbs fresh cut (lbs) . . . . . . . .
Honeydew Melons (cwt). . . . . .
Lettuce, all (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . .
Onions, dry, all (cwt) . . . . . . . .
Onions, fresh, red (cwt) . . . . . .
Onions, fresh, white (cwt). . . . .
Onions, fresh, yellow (cwt) . . . .

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.
.
.
.

.....
.....

....
....
Onions, processing, red (cwt) . . . . . .
Onions, processing, white (cwt). . . . .
Onions, processing , yellow (cwt) . . .

Code

Vegetables

3620
3630
3640
3650
3660
3670
3680
3690

Peas, Green (tons) . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Peppers, Bell (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Potatoes (cwt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Spinach (cwt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Squash, all (cwt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sweet Corn (cwt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.
.
. 3700
. 3710
. 3720

. 3730
. 3740
. 3750
. 3760
. 3770
. 3780
Sweet Potatoes (cwt). . . . . . . . . . . . . 3790
Tomatoes, processing (cwt) . . . . . . . . 3500
Watermelons (cwt). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3800
Other Vegetables (cwt), specify above. . 3810

None

3.

Code

What percent of the total Organic Vegetables Grown Under Protection reported
above were sold and delivered under a marketing contract arrangement? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21804075

Percent

3998

§6qIl¤

%

8

SECTION 8
1.

ORGANIC FLORICULTURE CROPS, NURSERY CROPS, MUSHROOMS, CHRISTMAS
TREES, AND MAPLE SYRUP

Did this operation grow any organic floriculture crops, nursery crops, mushrooms, cut Christmas trees, or harvest
organic maple syrup in 2014?
• Include landlord’s share and contractor’s share.
• Exclude personal or home use crops.
• Report value-added products and sales in Section 14, Item 4.
400

Yes - Complete this Section

No - Go to Section 9

Crops Grown
None

Code

Square Feet
Under Glass or
Other Protection

Acres in the Open
Acres

Gross Value
of Sales

Tenths

a. Floriculture and bedding crops

401

$

.00

b. Nursery crops, including
aquatic plants

404

$

.00

c. Propagative materials sold

407

$

.00

d. Mushrooms

410

$

.00

Crop

None

e. Cut Christmas trees

Crop

f.

Maple syrup

Code

Acres in
Production

Gross Value
of Sales

Number of
Trees Cut

451

None

Code

$

Number of Taps

Gallons of
Syrup Produced

491

.00

Gross Value
of Sales

$

21804083

§6qIt¤

.00

9

SECTION 9
1.

ORGANIC ACRES UNDER CROP INSURANCE

In 2014, were any of this operation’s total organic acres covered by crop insurance?
510

Yes - Continue

No - Go to Item 2
Percent

a. What percent of this operation’s total organic acres were covered by crop
insurance in 2014? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

%

511

[If Item 1a is 100%, go to Section 10; otherwise, continue]
2.

Which of the following best describes the reason why crop insurance was not purchased for the uninsured organic
acres in 2014? (Check one)
512

1

Too expensive

2

Unfamiliar with crop insurance

3

Other (specify):

513

SECTION 10
1.

GMO PRESENCE IN ORGANIC CROPS

Have you experienced economic losses that you can document due to unintended presence of GMO material in an
organic crop you have offered for sale? (Exclude expenses for preventative measures and testing of your crop.)
7000

Yes - Continue

No - Go to Section 11

a. Please list the three most recent occurrences of a loss including: the year, organic crop, quantity affected by
GMO material, unit of measure, and the economic loss ($/unit).
Year
(YYYY)

Crop

Quantity

Loss
($/unit)

Unit
(lbs, bushels, cwt, etc.)

7010

7011

7012

7014

7013

7020

7021

7022

7024

7023

7030

7031

7032

7034

7033

21804091

§6qI|¤

10

SECTION 11
1.

ORGANIC LIVESTOCK, POULTRY, AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS

Did this operation have or produce any organic livestock, poultry, or livestock products in 2014?
• Include landlord’s share and contractor’s share. Exclude items produced only for home use.
• Exclude from both Quantity Sold and Gross Value Sold, any production used to make value-added products
on this operation. Report value-added products and sales in Section 14, Item 4.
8000

Yes - Complete this Section
Livestock,
Poultry, and
Livestock
Products
a. Milk Cows
(Dry and
milking

PEAK 2014
Organic
Inventory

Dec. 31, 2014
Organic
Inventory

No - Go to Section 12
QUANTITY of
Organic Production
Sold or Moved As:
Organic

GROSS VALUE of
Organic Production
Sold or Moved As:

Conventional

Conventional

Organic

8020

$

.00 $

.00

b. Milk (pounds) 8020

$

.00 $

.00

c. Beef Cows

8060

$

.00 $

.00

d. Other Cattle
and Calves

8040

$

.00 $

.00

e. Hogs and
Pigs

8050

$

.00 $

.00

f. Sheep and
Lambs

8330

$

.00 $

.00

g. Goats and
Kids

8300

$

.00 $

.00

h. Goat Milk
(pounds)

8310

$

.00 $

.00

i. Mohair
(pounds)

8320

$

.00 $

.00

8400

$

.00 $

.00

8410

$

.00 $

.00

8210

$

.00 $

.00

m. Eggs (Dozen) 8220

$

.00 $

.00

n. Chickens,
Broilers

8200

$

.00 $

.00

o. Turkeys

8230

$

.00 $

.00

8240

$

.00 $

.00

j. Other
Livestock
Specify: C
8406

k. Other
Livestock
Products
Specify: C
8414

l. Chickens,
Layers

p. Other Poultry
Specify: C
8246

[If Organic Milk Production was reported above in row 1b, continue; otherwise skip to Section 12]
None

2.

What percent of the total Organic Milk Production reported above in row 1b was sold
and delivered under a marketing contract arrangement? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21804109

Percent

8999

§6qJ*¤

%

11

SECTION 12
1.

PRODUCTION EXPENSES

Report total production expenses paid by this operation in 2014 and the portion (percent) of those expenses used
for organic production.
• Include expenses paid by your landlords and contractors.
• Exclude expenses not related to the farm business.
Total Expenses

Portion for Organic
Production
(Percent)

Expense
(Dollars)

None

a. Organic certification expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1500

$

.00

b. Fertilizers, lime, and soil conditioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1501

$

.00

601

%

c. Agriculture chemicals, beneficial insects, and
other organic materials for pest control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1522

$

.00

622

%

d. Gasoline, diesel, fuels, and oils purchased for the
farm business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1507

$

.00

607

%

e. Seed, plants, vines, trees, etc. purchased . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1503

$

.00

603

%

Hired agricultural labor including contract labor
(include wages and benefit expenses). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1541

$

.00

641

%

g. Livestock purchased or leased . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1529

$

.00

629

%

h. Feed purchased for livestock and poultry . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1506

$

.00

606

%

i.

Interest paid on all debt related to the farm business . . . . .

1547

$

.00

647

%

j.

Property taxes paid in 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1517

$

.00

617

%

k. Rent and lease expenses for land, buildings,
machinery, etc. - include grazing fees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1537

$

.00

637

%

Custom work, such as custom hauling, custom
planting, custom harvesting, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1512

$

.00

612

%

m. Repairs, supplies, and maintenance costs. . . . . . . . . . . . .

1509

$

.00

609

%

n. Utilities expense (including water purchased). . . . . . . . . . .

1508

$

.00

608

%

o. All other production expenses - Include animal
health cost, storage, marketing expenses, etc. . . . . . . . . . .

1518

$

.00

618

%

1599

$

.00

f.

l.

Total Expenses (Sum of Items 1a - 1o) . . . . . .

21804117

§6qJ2¤

12

SECTION 13
1.

ORGANIC PRODUCTION PRACTICES

In 2014, did this operation use any of the following practices for organic agricultural production:
701

a. Biological pest management? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
b. Apply or release beneficial organisms (insects, nematodes, fungi) to manage
pests? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

702

c. Maintain a beneficial insect or vertebrate habitat for the specific purpose of
managing or reducing the spread of pests or disease? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

703

d. Plan planting locations to avoid cross infestation of pests in order to manage or
reduce the spread of pests? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

704

e. Choose a crop variety because of specific resistance to certain pests for the
specific purpose of managing or reducing the spread of pests on this operation? . . . .

705

f.

706

Plant crops at a specific time to avoid cross contamination from other pollen
or weeds? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

707

g. Produce or use organic mulch/compost? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
708

h. Green or animal manures?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
709

i.

No-till or minimum till cropping practices? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

j.

Maintain buffer strips or border rows to isolate organic products from
non-organic crops or land or take a buffer harvest?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

710

k. Use water management practices such as irrigation scheduling, controlled
drainage, or structures for water control? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

711

712

l.

Free range livestock production? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
713

m. Rotational grazing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21804125

§6qJ:¤

13

SECTION 14
1.

MARKETING PRACTICES FOR ORGANIC PRODUCTS

Of the total 2014 gross sales of ALL organic products (including any value-added/processed organic products),
what percent was marketed through:
Percent of Total
2014 Gross
Organic Sales

Marketing Practices
a. Consumer Direct Sales (Include farm stands, U-picks, farmers’ markets, community
supported agriculture shares (CSAs), mail orders, buying clubs, and the Internet.). . . . . . . . . .
b. Direct-to-Retail/Institutions (Include individual grocery stores, restaurants, caterers, and
institutions such as hospitals and schools, colleges, and universities.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
c. Wholesale Markets (Include grocery store distribution centers, processors, mills, packers,
distributors, wholesalers, brokers, sales to other operations, and grower cooperatives.). . . . . .

9100

%

9101

%

9102

%

TOTAL (Sum of Items 1a + 1b + 1c)

2.

3.

In 2014, did this operation market any of its organic products through community
supported agriculture shares (CSA’s)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

865

Yes

Approximately what percent of this operation’s organic products first point of sales were sold:

No
Percent

a. Locally (within 100 miles). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

841

%

b. Regionally (more than 100 miles but less than 500 miles). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

842

%

c. Nationally (500 miles or farther) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

843

%

d. Internationally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

844

%

TOTAL (Sum of Items 3a + 3b + 3c + 3d)

4.

100%

100%

In 2014, did this operation produce and market any Processed or Value-Added products from its own organic
agricultural production (Include bottled milk, cheese, processed meat, wine, jam, etc.) (Exclude sales reported in
previous sections.)
9503

Yes - Continue

No - Go to Item 5

a. Please report the product, quantity, unit, and sales of the processed or value-added product.
Processed or Value-Added Product

Quantity Sold

Unit (lbs,
bushels, cwt, etc.)

Gross Organic
Value-Added Sales

9501

Specify:

9201

9202

9203

$

.00

9204

9205

9206

$

.00

9207

9208

9209

$

.00

9210

Specify:
9211

Specify:

Percent

%

5.

Of this operation’s total organic and conventional sales in 2014, what percent were organic? . . . . .

6.

Did this operation produce any organic agricultural products under a marketing contract arrangement in 2014?

868

869

Yes - Continue

No - Go to Item 7
Percent

a. What percent of this operation’s total organic production in 2014 was sold and delivered
under a marketing contract arrangement? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870
7.

%

Did this operation produce any organic agricultural products under a production contract arrangement in 2014?
866

Yes - Continue

No - Go to Section 15

Percent

a. What percent of this operation’s total organic production in 2014 was under a production
contract arrangement? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21804133

867

§6qJB¤

%

14

SECTION 15

OTHER INFORMATION
Acres

None

1.
2.

How many of the 2014 organic acres in this operation were enrolled in the
EQIP Organic Initiative (administered by NRCS)? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Did this operation participate in the National Organic Certification Cost Share
Program in 2014? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

901

903

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

904

3.
4.

5.

Was this operation able to acquire sufficient amount of organic seed in 2014? . . . . . . . . .
Were adequate organic production inputs (such as pest control, crop/soil nutrients,
organic feed for livestock, etc.) available as needed for this operation in 2014? . . . . . . . .

905

Which of the following would you consider the primary challenge to you as an organic farmer?
(check one)
906
1

Regulatory problems (excessive paperwork/record keeping, certification costs, etc.)

2

Price issues (low premiums, lack of price information, prices inconsistent, etc.)

3

Production problems (high input costs, low yields, poor product quality)

4

Market access (too much competition, not enough volume produced, lack of buyers, etc.)

5

Management issues (overall time requirement, labor management, access to capital, etc.)

6

Other, specify:

969

Years

6.

How many years has this operation been growing or raising any agricultural products? . . . . . . . . . . .

907

7.

How many years has any portion of this operation been certified organic? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

908

8.

Over the next 5 years, does this operation plan to: (check one)
909

9.

1

Increase organic agricultural production

2

Maintain current levels of organic agricultural production

3

Decrease organic agricultural production

4

Discontinue organic agricultural production

5

Discontinue all agricultural production

6

Don’t know

What was this operation’s total gross value of sales of ALL (organic and conventional)
agricultural products in 2014? (check one)
910
0

None

5

$10,000 - $24,999

10

$500,000 - $999,999

1

$1 - $999

6

$25,000 - $49,999

11

$1,000,000 - $4,999,999

2

$1,000 - $2,499

7

$50,000 - $99,999

12

$5,000,000 or more

3

$2,500 - $4,999

8

$100,000 - $249,999

4

$5,000 - $9,999

9

$250,000 - $499,999
Percent of Total Gross
Value of Sales

10. What percent of this operation’s total gross value of sales reported above in
Item 9 came from the production and sales of ORGANIC agricultural products?. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

%

911

Percent of Net
Household Income

11. What percent of your Net Household Income came from the production and sale
of organic agricultural products? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21804141

912

§6qJJ¤

%

15

SECTION 16
1.

TRANSITIONAL ACREAGE

In 2014, did this operation own or operate any transitional acres?
9600

Yes - Continue
2.

No - Go to Section 17
Acres

In 2014, how many transitional acres did this operation:
a. Own? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9606

b. Rent or lease from others? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9607

c. Rent or lease to others? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9601

3.

[Calculate Items 2a + 2b - 2c] Then the total transitional acres operated in 2014 were: . . . . . .

9608

4.

Of the total (Item 3) transitional acres operated in 2014, what percent was:

Percent

a. Cropland? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9620

%

b. Pastureland?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9621

%

c. Rangeland?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9622

%
Percent

5.
6.

In general, how large of a price premium (in percent) over conventional prices did you
receive for production from transitional acres? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In general, what percent of production from transitional acres were sold and delivered
under a marketing contract arrangement? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SECTION 17

9602

%

9603

%

CONCLUSION

Survey Results: To receive the complete results of this survey on the release date, go to www.nass.usda.gov/results/
9990

Would you rather have a brief summary sent to you at a later date?

Yes

No

COMMENTS:

Respondent Name
9912

Area Code and Phone Number

Date (MM DD YY)

9911

9910

-

-

Thank you for your response.

21804158

§6qJ[¤

16

Response
1-Comp
2-R
3-Inac
4-Office Hold
5-R–Est
6-Inac–Est
7-Off Hold–Est
8-Known Zero

Respondent
9901

1-Op/Mgr
2-Sp
3-Acct/Bkpr
4-Partner
9-Other

9902

Mode
1-Mail
2-Tel
3-Face-to-Face
4-CATI
5-Web
6-e-mail
7-Fax
8-CAPI
19-Other

Office Use
Enum.
9903

9998

Eval.
9900

Change
9985

Office Use for POID
9989

R. Unit
9921

Optional Use
9907

9908

9906

9916

S / E Name

21804166

§6qJc¤