The statistics were released today to coincide with this week’s Organic Policy Conference and Hill Days in Washington DC, an annual gathering of organic stakeholders sponsored by the Organic Trade Association. Speaking to a sold-out crowd at Washington's Newseum, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the number of certified organic farms in the U.S. increased to 19,474 last year, out of a global total of 27,814. Read the USDA press release here