Organic Boom

Organic Boom

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Organic agriculture is happening throughout the U.S.. To no one's surprise, senior agricultural economist Katharine Greene says California is the number one grower of organic goods.

California is still the big, big state. That's where we grow most of our conventional fruits and vegetables, and that's where we grow most of our organic fruits and vegetables. Even in California, it's reflecting that doubling in growth in the vegetable sector, as well as the big growth in dairy. And California has a diverse set of products.

Jeff Huckabee of Grimway Farms in California.

You realize quickly why there's so much production. California, the conditions are so ideal for organic farming. You don't have high humidity, you don't get a lot of rain. And so you can get a lot more control there in California.

He did warn that foliar diseases are a challenge for organic farmers.

We have foliar diseases in carrots that come in in these hot and humid conditions. And once they hit, we don't have any tools to fight. Grimway Farms grows over 42000 acres of carrots, both conventional and organic. From 2012 to the 2017 censuses of agriculture, overall, farm sales of organic crops and livestock products in this country more than doubled in value from a little over $3 billion dollars to over seven billion dollars.

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