Another surprising result was that 6 of the top 12 states in the number of certified organic farms were in the Midwest and some of the northeastern plain states, which is an area that I’ve often regarded as representing a good part of the traditional U.S. corn belt. I think that this reflects some influence from larger organic grain operations taking root within the region, and the term “organic” no longer simply refers to fruit and vegetable stands at the weekend market. This is encouraging for future growth of organic agriculture as part of the U.S. food supply chain.
However, the metric used within this review is still largely influenced by state population. So, to look at the data a little bit differently I standardized by the total number of farms from the last agriculture census. This metric reflects more about where organic agriculture is more established in regard to the overall agricultural industry in a state, not necessarily within the context of how populated a particular state is.
Vermont and Maine remained as the two top dogs in organic agriculture. Within these states there is an organic farm for approximately every 13 to 17 conventional farms. California popped back up on the list, which is impressive considering that it is ranked fifth in terms of the total number of farms in the country. Wisconsin is the only other state ranking in the top 10 for both the total number of farms in the state and the number of organic farms per conventional farm. The representation from the Midwest and Great Plains dropped from the list based on this new metric. Representation from U.S. southeast was low for both metrics.
Overall, there are both encouraging trends as well as opportunities for growth when it comes to organic agriculture in the U.S. The Midwest, Southeast, and Great Plains regions certainly have a lot of room to grow in terms of increasing the use of organic, regenerative agricultural practices. Regardless, it’s interesting and encouraging to see growth across the country. Don’t stop supporting organic agriculture and your local farmers. Bit by bit we can revitalize the rural, agricultural landscape across the U.S. resulting in healthy, happy, and prosperous communities.
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