Organic Week

Last week was Organic week in Washington State and now Governor Kitzhaber has proclaimed September 15-21 to be Organically Grown in Oregon Week. Organic agriculture used to be considered a fringe sector of the industry with a narrowly-focused market base. That is no longer the case in the US and in Oregon.

ROTH:  Organic agriculture has found a way to appeal to people from a local standpoint, from a nutrition and health standpoint, from a differentiation standpoint.

Oregon Department of Agriculture Marketing Director Gary Roth says the state has been a pioneer and leader in organic production for years.

ROTH:  Oregon was actually the first state in the country to have an organic food law and we have seen the state and the Department of Agriculture and the many partners of the organic production and processing community come together and help this industry grow and be a vital contributor to the overall breadth of Oregon agriculture.

At more than 350 certified organic farms, Oregon ranks fifth in the nation. Annual sales top $230 million. That's still less than five percent of Oregon's total agricultural sales. Roth says there is at least one major reason to celebrate organic production in Oregon this year.

ROTH: The breadth and assortment of different organic products that our fellow Oregonians have to choose from. Because we grow so many different crops here in Oregon, we have so many different organic crops to offer as well.

That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.