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More than a thousand organic farms are now operating in Pennsylvania, according to the 2019 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service Organic Survey.
The 1,048 organic farms counted last year was a 31% increase from 2016, placing Pennsylvania in fourth place behind California, Wisconsin and New York.
These farms produced $ 742 million in organic produce – up 12% from 2016 – on 107,550 certified organic acres, a 15% increase from 2016. Pennsylvania ranked third behind California and Washington for the value of organic sales.
Of the more than a thousand farms, 559 said all of their sales were organic, 237 said they were 75 to 99 percent organic, and 149 said they were 50 to 74 percent.
In Pennsylvania, livestock and poultry were the top organic category at $ 449 million (up 16%), followed by crops at $ 124 million (up 48%) and mushrooms at $ 77.3 million. dollars (up 99%).
Of Pennsylvania’s organic farms, 87 reported growing squash; 59, cabbage; 58, potatoes; 57, tomatoes; onions, 54; lettuce, 51; peppers, 49; garlic, 44; carrots, 42; broccoli, 40; musketeer bears, 29; sweet potatoes, 29 years old; spinach, 29; herbs, 28; peas, 28; sweet corn, 23; watermelons, 22; cantaloupe and musk melons, 19; cauliflower, 17; strawberries, 16; blackberries, 10; blueberries, 10; raspberries, 6; celery, 6; apples, 5; and honeydew, 2.
A total of 362 dairy cows raised; 114, laying hens; 102, meat chickens; 54, turkeys; 26, beef cows; 13, pigs and pigs; and 3, sheep.
Only 11 of the organic farms reported producing maple syrup. They operated 167,419 faucets to produce 50,929 gallons of syrup, which they sold for $ 1,227,119.
Of the farms, 60 cited regulatory issues as a major obstacle to their operations, 30 as pricing issues and 31 as production issues.
Contact Marcus Schneck at [email protected].
