Data Release: 2019 Organic Survey Executive Briefing

2019 Organic Survey
Data Release
10/22/20

Contents
• Overview
• Survey Design
• Highlights of the Results
• Farms and Land
• Sales
• Practices

History
• The 2019 Organic Survey is the sixth organic production and practices survey NASS has conducted.

• The 2008 Organic Production Survey (OPS) collected data from three organic operation groups –
certified, exempt, and transitioning.
• The 2011 Certified Organic Production Survey collected data from certified organic operations only.

• The 2014 Organic Survey was a census of all known U.S. farms and ranches with certified, exempt,
and transitioning land.
• The 2015 and 2016 Organic Surveys were a census of all known U.S. farms and ranches that had
certified organic production.

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2019 Organic Survey
• The 2019 Organic Survey was a census of all known operations with certified or transitioning organic
production in the United States in 2019.

• The sources for the sampling frame were the 2017 Census of Agriculture, the 2016 Certified Organic
Survey, the 2019 Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) certified organic list, and sources supplied by
Regional Field Offices (RFOs).
• All states were included in the survey.

4

Timeline
• Planning – January 2019 – November 2019
• Data Collection – December 2019 – June 2020
• Data Analysis – June 2020 – September 2020
• Data Release – October 22, 2020

5

Forms By Mode of Data Collection
Online

Mail

Field

Phone
6

Organic Farms and Land

7

Certified Organic Farms and Land, 2008 - 2019
2008*
Organic Survey
Farms

2014
Organic Survey

2016
Organic Survey

2019
Organic Survey

10,903

12,634

14,217

16,585

4,004

3,643

5,019

5,495

Cropland

2,230

(NA)

2,714

3,517

Pasture/Rangeland

1,848

(NA)

2,305

1,974

Organic land (1,000
acres)

*Includes land on exempt farms
(NA) not available

8

Top States in Organic Farms, 2016 and 2019
2016

2019

California

2,713

3,012

Wisconsin

1,276

1,364

New York

1,059

1,321

Pennsylvania

803

1,048

Ohio

575

785

Iowa

732

779

Washington

677

745

Vermont

556

655

Minnesota

545

635

Indiana

420

595

Michigan

402

541
9

Top States in Organic Land, 2016 and 2019
2016 (acres)
California

2019 (acres)

1,069,950

965,257

(D)

(D)

Montana

266,048

355,723

New York

264,385

323,081

Wisconsin

219,266

250,940

Texas

146,801

246,307

Nebraska

107,371

231,833

Vermont

134,336

203,002

Oregon

194,769

196,045

Idaho

178,567

180,732

Minnesota

130,688

172,968

Alaska

(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.

10

Organic Sales

11

Market Value of Certified Organic Products Sold,
2016 and 2019
2016
($ million)

2019
($ million)

% change

Total Sales

7,554

9,926

31

Crops

4,193

5,787

38

Livestock and poultry

1,157

1,663

44

Livestock and poultry products

2,205

2,476

12

12

Top States in Organic Sales, 2019
State

California

Sales
($ million)
3,597

Washington

886

Pennsylvania

742

Oregon

454

Texas

424

North Carolina

370

New York

298

Wisconsin

269

Michigan

231

Idaho

206
13

Top States in Organic Crop Sales, 2016 and 2019
2016 ($ million)
California

2019 ($ million)
2,129

2,874

Washington

533

717

Oregon

217

323

Pennsylvania

84

124

Texas

73

112

New York

52

105

Top published states only

14

Crop Sectors by Sales, 2016 and 2019
2016 ($ million)

2019 ($ million)

% change from 2016

Crop Total

4,193

5,787

38

Vegetables in the open

1,644

2,084

27

Fruits, berries, and tree
nuts

1,407

2,023

44

Field crops

763

1,180

55

Mushrooms

111

161

45

89

133

49

113

115

2

Maple syrup

65

91

39

Christmas trees

<1

<1

345

Vegetables under
protection

Nursery, floriculture and
propagative materials

15

16

Top Crop Commodities in Sales, 2016 and 2019
2016 ($ million)

2019 ($ million)

Apples

327

475

Lettuce

277

400

Grapes

218

332

Strawberries

242

321

Corn for grain

164

278

Blueberries, cultivated

100

205

Spinach

118

179

Mushrooms

111

161

Potatoes

151

155

Alfalfa hay

107

154
17

Top Vegetable Commodities in Sales, 2016 and
2019
2016 ($ million)

2019 ($ million)

Lettuce

277

400

Spinach

118

179

Potatoes

151

155

Tomatoes

175

132

Carrots

88

132

Onions

34

113

Broccoli

71

109

101

77

Cauliflower

32

68

Celery

38

65

Sweet potatoes

18

Major Fruit Categories by Sales, 2016 and 2019
2016 ($ million)
Fruits, tree nuts and berries

2019 ($ million)
1,407

2,023

Berries

406

676

Apples

327

475

Grapes

218

332

Other fruits

254

314

Citrus

123

116

79

110

Tree nuts

19

Top Fruit Commodities in Sales, 2016 and 2019
(including berries and tree nuts)
2016 ($ million)

2019 ($ million)

Apples

327

475

Grapes

218

332

Strawberries

242

321

Blueberries, cultivated

100

205

Raspberries

31

92

Dates

61

80

Blackberries

26

50

Lemons

57

40

Oranges

42

37

Peaches

28

36
20

Top Field Crops Commodities in Sales, 2016 and
2019
2016 ($ million)

2019 ($ million)

Corn for grain

164

278

Alfalfa hay

107

154

Wheat

107

149

Soybeans

78

109

Rice

43

44

Tobacco

62

39

Peanuts

13

38

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22

Top Livestock, Poultry, and Product Commodities
in Sales, 2016 and 2019
2016 ($ million)
Milk

2019 ($ million)
1,386

1,585

Chickens, broilers

750

1,115

Eggs

816

887

Cattle

233

293

83

139

Turkeys

23

Top States in Organic Livestock and Poultry Sales,
2016 and 2019
2016 ($ million)

2019 ($ million)

Pennsylvania

387

449

California

378

386

8

221

Nebraska

(D)

108

Indiana

33

79

Washington

37

76

North Carolina

(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.

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Top States in Organic Livestock and Poultry
Product Sales, 2016 and 2019
2016 ($ million)

2019 ($ million)

California

382

336

Texas

204

277

Pennsylvania

189

169

Wisconsin

168

168

New York

141

163

Michigan

139

129

40

125

117

111

Idaho

Oregon

25

Organic Practices

26

Organic Marketing Practices, 2019
Number of farms

($ million)

Direct to consumer

2,993

300

Direct to retail markets and institutions

3,196

2,035

Sales of value-added products

1,318

727

27

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Organic Production Practices, 2014 and 2019

Production Practice
Used buffer strips or border rows to isolate
organic from conventional crops

Organic farms using
practice, 2014

Organic farms using
practice, 2019

8,658

10,796

(NA)

9,160

6,695

7,880

(NA)

7,564

Used no-till or minimum till practices

4,881

5,970

Produced or used organic mulch/compost

5,962

5,737

Applied animal manures
Used water management practices
Planted green manures (cover crops plowed
under)

Production practice questions did not appear on the 2016 survey.
(NA) not available
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Number of Farms Reporting Crop Economic
Losses, 2019 and earlier years
Year

Unintended presence of
GMO material (farms)

Unintended presence of
non-NOP approved pesticides (farms)

In 2019

125

142

In 2018

115

145

Prior to 2018

316

280

15,248

15,339

898

777

No loss
Don’t know

30

Selected Production Expenses, 2019
$ million
Organic certification

Certified organic feed
Food safety related
Hired and contract agricultural labor
Seed, annual seedlings, and planting stock

47

1,944
30
1,584
669

Organic

340

Non-organic

329

31

Major Challenges for Certified Organic Farms,
2019
Number of farms

% of farms

Regulatory

7,690

54

Price issues

5,423

38

Production problems

5,551

39

Market access

4,204

30

Management issues

3,916

28

Other

3,024

21

32

Future Production Plans for Certified Organic
Farms, 2019
% of farms

Increase organic production

29

Maintain current level of organic
production

44

Decrease organic production

4

Discontinue organic production

2

Discontinue all agricultural production

2

Don’t know

20

33

Transitional Land – Certified Farms
2008
Organic Survey
Certified farms with
transitional land

2014
Organic Survey

2019
Organic Survey

1,397

1,272

1,857

185,796

119,458

255,060

Cropland

(NA)

110,791

223,774

Pasture/Rangeland

(NA)

8,667

31,286

Transitional land (acres)

Data on transition acres was not collected in the 2016 Survey.
(NA) not available

34

Transitional Land – Other Farms (not currently
certified)
2008
Organic Survey
Not currently certified
farms with transitional
land

2014
Organic Survey

2019
Organic Survey

2,440

781

710

206,500

53,405

60,611

Cropland

(NA)

26,769

39,649

Pasture/Rangeland

(NA)

26,636

20,962

Transitional land (acres)

Data on transition acres was not collected in the 2016 Survey.
(NA) not available

35

Other Information

Organic Farms by Sales Class, 2019
Sales Class

% of farms

% of sales

< $10,000

11

0.1

$10,000 - $99,999

38

3

$100,000 - $249,999

22

6

$250,000 - $499,999

12

7

$500,000+

17

84

37

2019 Organic Survey and 2017 Census of
Agriculture
2016
Certified Organic
Survey

2017
Census of Agriculture

2019
Organic Survey

Certified organic farms

14,217

15,951

16,585

Organic sales certified
organic farms ($ million)

7,554

7,273

9,926

38

Certified Organic Producer Demographics –
2017 Census of Agriculture
Percent of certified
organic producers
(Producers = 30,909)

Percent of all U.S. producers
(Producers = 3,399,834)

Age of producers

<35

19

8

35-64

61

58

65+

20

34

34

27

5

11

Farming

69

42

Other

31

58

New/beginning

Served in military
Primary Occupation

39

Certified Organic Producer Demographics –
2017 Census of Agriculture (continued)
Percent of certified
organic producers
(Producers = 30,909)

Percent of all
U.S. producers
(Producers = 3,399,834)

Sex of producers
Male

65

64

Female

35

36

4

3

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.4

1.7

Asian

1.7

0.6

Black

0.5

1.3

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

0.2

0.1

96.4

95.5

0.8

0.8

Hispanic
Race

White
More than one race reported

40

Survey Release
• Additional information can be found in a published report
available as a PDF file on the NASS website and in the NASS
online database Quick Stats
• For more information on the 2019 Organic Survey and past
organic survey results, go to:
https://www.nass.usda.gov/organics

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All Organic Reports Available At
www.nass.usda.gov/organics
For Questions;
Virginia Harris
502-907-3211
virginia.harris@usda.gov

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