Number of Organic Farms Grows in Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio ranks seventh in the United States in the number of organic farms – 575 – the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association announced Tuesday.

The Buckeye State “is seeing double-digit growth in the number of organic farms, organic land in production and organic sales, illustrating the role of organic production in economic development,” said in its report.

In its 2016 Certified Organic Survey, the National Agriculture Statistics Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that organic sales in Ohio were more than 30% higher than in 2015 and the number of organic farms rose by 24%.

Ohio rose to seventh place from eighth in 2015. California led the nation and Pennsylvania ranked fourth.

Ohio ranks fifth in organic dairy farms, ninth in organic milk sales, and fourth in both organic field farms and soybean farms.

The survey reports that all organic farms in the United States had $7.6 billion in sales and an 11% increase in the number of organic farms. More than five million acres within the United States are devoted to organic farming, up 15% since 2015.

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