New York organic growers rank third in number of organic farms, fourth in certified acres and seventh in sales

Results of the 2019 Organic Survey released Oct. 22 show there was 1,321 certified organic farms in New York. This ranks New York third in the nation behind California and Wisconsin. Certified acres increased by 22% from 2016 to 323 thousand acres. This ranks New York fourth nationally, behind California, Alaska and Montana in the certified acres. New York also has 5,567 acres currently transitioning to organic, according to Donnie Fike, state statistician of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, New York Field Office

New York organic farms sold $298 million in organic commodities, up 38% from 2016. This ranks New York seventh, behind California, Washington, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Texas and North Carolina.

The survey results show the following top commodity groups in organic sales for New York in 2019:

• Livestock and poultry products – $163 million
• Crops – $105 million
• Vegetables – $28.9 million
• Nationally, in 2019, 58% of organic sales came from crops, led by vegetables and fruits (including berries and tree nuts).

The 2019 Certified Organic Survey is a special study conducted by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and is part of the 2017 Census of Agriculture program. For the complete “2019 Organic Survey Summary” report, go to https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Online_Resources/Organics/index.php. The “2019 Certified Organic Survey” report and all other NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.