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Organic agriculture became one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture during the 1990s. According to USDA statistics, organic acreage in the United States has doubled, and consumption of organically produced products has increased 20 percent per year for the past decade. Today, 80 percent of organic products purchased on the market are fresh fruits and vegetables. The potential consumer demand for other organic products, like meat and processed foods, is wide open. Organic agriculture's importance was further solidified when the USDA implemented the first nationwide organic standards--the National Organic Standards--in 2002. CSREES addresses organic agriculture through formula funds and competitive funding, such as the Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Program--Integrated Organic Program; the Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Program--Organic Transitions Program; and the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative.
Organic agriculture is a very site-specific process. Farmers must often take information developed by others and adapt it to meet their local situations. This involves creativity, ingenuity, and a willingness to take certain risks--attributes that American farmers have exhibited from early days. Making the transition from conventional production to organic production is generally an information-intensive process. To help farmers in this transition, CSREES generates new knowledge and develops information delivery systems with which farmers are familiar and comfortable through grants for research and outreach.
Modern Organic Agriculture traces its roots to the "Dust Bowl" years of the 1930s. Tillage practices of that time were excessive and destroyed the structure of the soil. By exposing the organic matter contained in the soil to air, it, too, was destroyed (oxidized), thus compounding the loss of soil structure. In the book, "Plowman's Folly," first published in 1943, Edward H. Faulkner laid the foundation for the modern practice of conservation tillage. He advocated minimum disturbance of the soil, and one of his primary goals was to conserve soil organic matter. In the popular press, Robert Rodale championed the concept that building a healthy soil, primarily by increasing the organic matter content, would produce healthy crops. Since his death, the Rodale Institute has continued the legacy of advocating the creation of a healthy soil as the basis for ecologically sustainable production systems.
But the term "organic" is not as easily definable as it might appear. To a chemist, an organic compound is simply one that contains carbon. Most synthetic pesticides are mostly carbon. To provide consumers with assurances that the "organic" products that they were purchasing were produced in a certain manner, certifying organizations were founded. The first was the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) in the early 1970s. In time, similar organizations were formed in different parts of the United States and in other countries.
But there were differences in what were acceptable production practices to the various organizations. And once again, consumers were left wondering exactly what they were buying. This led to federal legislation, spearheaded by Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, that created the National Organic Standards (see IN FOCUS article below) for the production of organic agricultural products. Now certifying agencies inspect farms to determine whether or not the national standards are being applied. If they are, then the producer is permitted to use the official USDA seal for organically produced products. The national standards guarantee consumers that the products they purchase adhere to certain production guidelines.
Many reasons are cited by farmers for adopting organic practices, including: (a) economic (to lower input costs, to capture high value markets), (b) environmental (to conserve nonrenewable resources, to be an environmental steward), and (c) health (to reduce exposure to agrochemicals).
Organic production is not simply the avoidance of conventional chemical inputs, nor is it the substitution of natural inputs for synthetic ones. Organic farmers apply techniques first used thousands of years ago, such as crop rotations and the use of composted animal manures and green manure crops, in ways that are economically sustainable in today's world. In organic production, overall system health is emphasized, and the interaction of management practices is the primary concern. Organic producers implement a wide range of strategies to develop and maintain biological diversity and replenish soil fertility.
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Last Updated: July 15, 2008
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