Vermont has the most intensive organic farming of any US state, according to an analysis by Escoffier Global that used USDA Certified Organic Survey data, Census Bureau figures and state population records, Farms.com reports. Rather than ranking states by sales alone, the study built an Organic Footprint Intensity Score from the share of farmland that is certified organic, organic acres as a share of total land, and organic production value per acre.
Vermont scored 81.07, well ahead of Pennsylvania, New York, California and Georgia. Nearly 17% of Vermont's farmland is certified organic, against about 1% nationally, and the state devotes more of its total land to organic farming than any other. It also has the most certified organic farms per head, 107 per 100,000 residents, followed by Maine, Iowa, Wisconsin and Montana.
California remains the biggest organic producer, with about $3.55 billion in sales, nearly a third of the US total, but ranks fourth on intensity because organic land is a smaller share of its farmland. Georgia led on value, with nearly $11,800 of organic sales per acre, followed by Pennsylvania, Washington, New Jersey and North Carolina.
The study found that crop choice drives returns: states growing fruits, vegetables, poultry, greenhouse products and specialty crops earn more per organic acre than those focused on hay, pasture or large field crops. The researchers note that only certified operations were counted, so farms selling organic produce below the certification threshold are missing and actual numbers could be higher.
Photo: Tania Dey / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Farms.com
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