WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2012 –U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-certified organic growers in the United States sold over $3.5 billion organically grown agricultural commodities in 2011, according to the results of the 2011 Certified Organic Production Survey. The report was released today by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). NASS conducted the survey for USDA’s Risk Management Agency to help refine federal crop insurance products for organic producers. It is the first time a survey has focused solely on USDA-certified organic producers.
Corn leads organic field crops in sales and accounted for more than $101.5 million in 2011. The only other field crops to have more than $50 million in sales were alfalfa dry hay and winter wheat, accounting for $69.5 million and $54 million in sales respectively.
The survey also gathered information on the organically raised livestock, which accounted for $1.31 billion in sales in 2011. Organic milk was the top livestock commodity last year, accounting for $765 million in sales. The other key organic livestock commodities were chicken eggs and broiler chickens, earning $276 million and $115 million in sales respectively.
The full results of the survey are available online at http://bit.ly/2011OrganicSurvey