Organic farmers will harvest a record number of acres across the U.S. this year despite the weather and trade challenges plaguing agriculture in 2019.
According to the Annual Acreage Report by Mercaris, farmers will harvest 3.1 million acres of U.S. land certified for organic production, an increase of seven percent over 2018.
The increase is driven in large part by a surge in new certified organic field crop operations across the nation.
The West and High Plains regions saw the largest jump in organic harvested field crop acres this year.
Overall total organic acres, which includes pasture, rangeland, and organic crop area, will reach 8.3 million acres this year.
Additionally, more than 18,000 U.S. farm operation are now certified compliant with the USDA National Organic Program standards, a three percent increase from 2018.
California is the nation’s number one organic crop growing state.
