Organic farming has registered improvement in Virginia: State Officials

Virginia agriculture officials reported that organic farming has increased in the state. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said that Virginia had 167 organic farms in 2014, which are up from 156 in 2008. Those farms generated $41.3 million in sales, which is more than double as compared to the $19.2 million in 2008.

Crop production contributed to 81% of the organic sale, 14% came from livestock and poultry products, including milk and eggs, and 5% belonged to livestock and poultry animals.

In 2015, the national organic standards have turned 15, and as the USDA program is approaching driving age, a new federal survey of the industry, the first since 2008, has shown a sector, booming in its adolescence.

In 2014, over 14,000 farms sold $5.5 billion in organic products in the United States, up a full 72% since 2008. Presently, the organic dairy market alone is worth over $1 billion.

Almost all that production revolved around a group of 10 states, accounting for 78% of sales. The pack was led by California, the country's leading producer of fruits and vegetables, with $2.2 billion, and on combining with Washington state and Oregon, which ranked number 2 and 4 respectively, the West Coast has proved to be the center of organic farming in the United States.

The survey has also suggested that farmers have been finding out the ways of how they can get more food out of fewer acres. It is a reality that might help undercut the chief criticism of organic farming that yields are quite low to make it viable on a large scale.