For most of its history, organic agriculture
has been given short shrift. If they paid attention
at all, conventional agricultural institutions
treated it as an antiquated, unscientific way to
farm – suitable, perhaps, for gardeners, but not a
serious means of commercial food production.
Anyone who advocated for organic farming was
derided; it was professional suicide for an agronomist
or soil scientist to do so.
While its methods, proponents, and philosophy
are still derided in some quarters, things
have been turning around for organic agriculture.
Organic consumption is increasing and
organic acreage is growing. An organic industry
is developing that not only commands respect,
but now demands a growing share of research
and educational services from USDA, land-grant
universities, and state agriculture departments.
By the end of 2008, the organic sector had
grown to a whopping $24.6 billion industry.[1]
While many sectors of the agricultural economy
are growing slowly and even stagnating, the
organic sector has been growing at roughly 20%
a year since 1994.[2] Even during the recession
year of 2008, growth was a respectable 17%.[3]
At present the organic sector constitutes about
3.5% of total U.S. food sales, but should these
growth rates continue, it could reach 10% in less
than a decade.
According to ERS statistics from 2005, U.S.
organic acreage now exceeds four million, with
certified production in all 50 states.[ 4] Worldwide,