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U.S. Organic Certified Acres Now Totals 6.5 Million
USAgNet - 10/17/2018

Mercaris, a market data service and online trading platform for organic, non-GMO, and certified agricultural commodities, released its annual Organic and Non-GMO Acreage Report. In its report, Mercaris captures key statistics around the expansion of certified organic and non-GMO field crop farming and acreage across the U.S.

The report reveals that, as of August 2018, there are 17,648 U.S. farms certified as compliant with the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) standards for organic row crop production. This is an increase of almost 3% year-over-year, which represents 460 new operations across the country.

Altogether, Mercaris estimates the amount of U.S. land certified for organic crop production will total 6.5 million harvested acres for the current year, up 2% from the previous year's 6.4 million acres.

States along the East Coast, through the Corn Belt, and through the West reported the largest gains in total NOP certified crop operations, with the three regions adding a combined 430 certified organic crop operations. The report from Mercaris takes a deep dive into this data, providing a close look at organic alfalfa, corn, dry beans, peas, lentils, small grains, soybeans, and wheat. The report also analyzes non-GMO corn and soybean acreage.

The USDA NASS confirmed that it will not be issuing data on organic acreage for 2018, making the Mercaris Organic Acreage Report the only trusted information source in the country.


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