OrganicAgriculture

Organic Agriculture[[image:USDAorganic.jpg width="103" height="103" align="right"]]
**Organic agriculture** is a production system designed to sustain the health of soils, ecosystems, and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs. It combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements).

What is this measure?
Organic production was measured using harvested cropland rather than total farmland to give a more accurate picture of availability levels (in many cases, harvested cropland represents only one-third of total farmland in the county). Analysis includes a measurement of sales of Certified Organic produce, Certified Organic cropland as a percentage of total farmland, and income per acre of harvested cropland.

Why is this important?
Measuring organic production is recognition of the environmental benefits and consumer demand for organic produce. Organic produce is consumed locally as well as exported (eg. organic sweet potatoes and squash for baby food as well as organic tobacco for European markets). Data compare the percentage of farmland devoted to organic production and sales, to all crop sales in each county and the state. A measure of organic to conventional production can be useful in establishing the potential for organic production to enhance our local, sustainable food economy.

What does this measure show?
** Table 1. Cropland devoted to Organically-Certified production as a percentage of total acreage in 2007. Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service (2008 )** Acreage || Total Farm Acreage || Organic Percentage || Certified organic cropland in the Triangle represents a small portion of total farmland in each county; however, the percentage of farmland devoted to organic agriculture regionally in 2007 was double the statewide percentage. Organic acreage in Chatham and Orange counties was significantly greater than the percentage in the Triangle counties combined.
 * County || Organic
 * ** Triangle ** || 304 || 206,422 || 0.15% ||
 * ** Chatham ** || 174 || 22,335 || 0.78% ||
 * ** Durham ** || 5 || 4,714 || 0.11% ||
 * ** Johnston ** || 61 || 110,772 || 0.06% ||
 * ** Lee ** || 3 || 14,544 || 0.02% ||
 * ** Orange ** || 51 || 18,447 || 0.28% ||
 * ** Wake ** || 10 || 35,610 || 0.03% ||
 * ** Statewide ** || 3,021 || 4,188,658 || 0.07% ||


 * Table 2. Certified Organic Sales in the Triangle, 2007.Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service (2008). **
 * County || 2007 Sales || Organic Acreage // (harvested crop // // land) // || Value per Acre ||
 * || // Inflation adjusted to 2010 dollars // ||  || // Inflation adjusted to 2010 dollars // ||
 * **Triangle** || $900,193 || 304 || $2,961.16 ||
 * **Chatham** || $398,917 || 174 || $2,292.63 ||
 * **Durham** || $6,696 || 5 || $1,339.20 ||
 * **Johnston** || $28,699 || 61 || $470.48 ||
 * **Lee** || $1,913 || 3 || $637.67 ||
 * **Orange** || $424,746 || 51 || $8,328.35 ||
 * **Wake** || $39,222 || 10 || $3,922.20 ||
 * **Statewide** || $6,978,651 || 3,021 || $2,310.05 ||

Organic sales data in this first reporting period (2007) were $900,193 regionally, or 13 percent of statewide organic sales that year. Compared with organic sales nationally, which have increased an average of 18 percent annually over the past 10 years [1], this sales volume is impressive because average farm size in the Triangle in 2007 was one-quarter the national average [2].

The market price of crops grown on the land influences the income per acre. Taking the inflation adjusted dollar amount of direct sales [3] in each county, as shown in Table 2, and dividing this by the number of harvested acres produces a rough estimate of the income per acre when used for organic production. The inflation-adjusted value of income per acre in Orange and Wake Counties in 2007 surpassed the regional and statewide values. It is likely the income per acre of farmland used for organic production will increase in all regional counties as land values increase, development takes more land out of production, and growers learn to produce more on fewer acres.

The organic movement has gained significant traction in the last few years. Most of the growth in land devoted to organic production has taken place in Chatham County so it would be interesting to look at the data for the Triangle counties in 2008-2010 when it becomes available. A rigorous analysis of the demand and long-term economic benefits of local organic production should accompany any policy-making process surrounding property taxation.

**Author//://** Aimee Schmidt, NCSU (CNR) graduate student 2010.05.06


 * Reviewers//://** Tandy Jones, TLC; Dr. Nancy Creamer, NCSU

Technical Notes
Reported acreage may differ from that found in other sources because these data were self-reported by respondents and there was no attempt made to verify reports with certifying organizations. Total acres used for organic production was a new national agricultural statistical survey category in the 2007 census. Respondents reported organic production as defined by the National Organic Standards while 2002 only reported acreage of certified organically produced crops. The data and metadata can be seen here: [|OrganicAg.xlsx]

[1] We cannot compare annual sales in the Triangle over this period since the data are not available. [2] Triangle average in 2007 was 115.83 acres while the national average was 449 acres (@http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Online_Highlights/Organics/index.asp ; http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0883511.html). [3] Adjusted to 2010 dollars