06/05/07 Washington organic production growing

Washington Ag June 5, 2007 Certified organic acreage in Washington state has increased by as much as 47 percent between 2004 and 2006 and as much as 70 percent since 2002. Those growth estimates are included in a profile of the state's organic acreage, crops and livestock compiled by Washington State University's Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources. David Granatstein, WSU sustainable agriculture specialist, was one of those involved in gathering and analyzing the data from organizations that certify organic farmland in Washington. Granatstein: "One of the problems is that we don't know all the time who those certifiers are. There is not a great comprehensive system. But fortunately Washington State Department of Agriculture and Oregon Tilth, they probably certify, our estimate is over 98% of what is in the state. So we are fairly confident we are getting the picture even if the numbers aren't exactly perfect." And Granatstein says they were conservative in their estimate of organically farmed land. Now, Washington has several million acres of lands in crops, not including pasture so the 64,325 acres certified as organic still represents just a small portion of the state's agricultural production. Tomorrow, the leading organic crops in Washington. I'm Bob Hoff.