Wisconsin 2nd Nationally In Organic Agriculture
Sunday, September 24th, 2017 -- 8:38 AM
(Wisconsin Ag Connection)Wisconsin continues to be one of the most vibrant states in the country when it comes to organic agriculture.
The USDA has released the results of its 2016 Organic Survey, which notes that the Badger State is home to about nine percent of the nation's organic farms. Last year, there were 1,276 organic farm operations that grew crops on 219,266 acres. That was up from the previous year when 1,205 farms registered 209,615 organic acres. Overall, the state ranks second nationally for organic production, just behind California. New York is the third larger organic ag producer. As of last fall, Wisconsin producers had 27,980 certified organic dairy cows on hand, which produced 10 percent of the nation's organic milk.
The number of organic beef cattle totaled just over 2,230 head as of December 31. The state also produced about 76 percent of all the organic cranberries in the country with sales totaling $2.9 million in 2016. About 85 percent of all the organic farm products were sold through the wholesale marketplace last year. The remaining products were purchased by consumers directly from the farm. Nationally, the sales of organic farm products rose by 23 percent compared to the previous year, with the number of certified organic farms in the country also increasing by 11 percent to 14,217.
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