Minnesota Ag Connection - Minnesota 9th in U.S. for Certified Organic Farms

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Minnesota 9th in U.S. for Certified Organic Farms
Minnesota Ag Connection - 10/23/2020

The 2019 Certified Organic Survey is a special study conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and is part of the 2017 Census of Agriculture program. The primary purpose of the survey is to collect value of sales information at the commodity level along with acreage, production, and practices data for a variety of certified organic crop and livestock operations. This is the sixth comprehensive organic survey NASS has conducted and the first since the 2016 Organic Survey.

In 2019, Minnesota ranked ninth in the nation for the total number of certified organic farms with 635 farms. That is nearly 4% of the nation's total number of certified organic farms. There were 172,968 acres of certified organic farmland in Minnesota. This was an increase of 42,280 acres from 2016.

Cow milk had the highest total value of sales of organically produced commodities in Minnesota with $38.2 million in sales.

Minnesota ranks third in certified organic corn for grain and fourth in organic soybean production in the U.S. and comprised 10% of the national production, for both corn and soybeans.

Minnesota ranked second in certified organic rye production in the U.S. and comprised 16% of the Nation's organic rye with sales totaling $328,736 in 2019.

Minnesota produced 38% of the Nation's organic goat milk with sales totaling $913,814.

Minnesota ranked third in certified organic oat production in the U.S. and comprised 12% of the Nation's organic oats, with sales totaling $1,441,161 in 2019.

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