Washington and Oregon are celebrating organic farming this month. According to USDA data from 2011, the two states are among the top 10 for number of certified organic farms.
Toni Tabora-Roberts
_Note: I heard back from the Oregon Organic Coalition on Sept. 19 and updated the post to reflect their comments._
Tilth Producers of Washington just wrapped up 'Washington Organics Week.' And this week was proclaimed 'Organically Grown in Oregon Week,' by Governor Kitzhaber.
The Oregon Governor's proclamation says Oregon ranks fifth in the country for organic farms. I wanted to see how Washington and Idaho ranked, and also find out if there was any significant trend in the numbers of certified organic farms. So, I started poking through some data from the USDA and found myself in a bit of a rabbit hole of data sets.
Following the 2007 Agricultural Census, a USDA farm survey that takes place every five years, the agency did its first Organic Production Survey in 2008.
In 2011, they conducted another Organic Production Survey, but the data is not 'apples-to-apples' comparable because different things were recorded in the 2008 survey, including:
- In 2008, the number of organic farms included those "exempt from certification because their sales totaled less than $5,000." (Source: USDA press release.). The 2011 survey includes just certified organic farms, not exempt farms.
- The 2011 survey excludes data that was counted in 2008 for floriculture, Christmas trees, and mushrooms.
The good news -- in May of this year, the USDA concluded the latest Agricultural Census. This means that sometime next year they’ll release data which includes a new Organic Production Survey that should be comparable to the 2008 numbers.
Oregon Organic Coalition, who helped craft the Governor's proclamation, used this 2008 data which shows Oregon ranking fifth in organic farms. Stacy Kraker with the OOC wrote me about why 'exempt' farms should be included in the number:
“What you may not know about exempt farms is that they are still considered organic —- registered organic -— and are simply not required to pay the fees associated with being certified, due to their low income status.”
Despite having no exact comparison data that includes the exempt farms, it’s interesting to note how Northwest states are faring. Here’s the top 10 list for certified organic farms in 2011:
Washington and Oregon made the top 10 with Idaho included in the top 15:
- Washington ranks fourth, with 493 farms doing $297 million in sales.
- Oregon was ninth with 353 farms and $233 million in sales.
- Idaho came in at 14th with 142 certified organic farms and $53 million in sales.
Do you buy organic products? Are you buying more or less organic food than you did five years ago? Is organic something you look for, or do you prioritize something else, like cost or buying local?
On a related note: A USDA staffer pointed me to an interesting dataset of all certified organic operations (not just farms), which will take me some time to unpack. The cool thing about this set is that there is comparison data for a few years starting with 2009. I'll let you know if I find out anything interesting.
-- Toni Tabora-Roberts
