Certified Organic Farming in the Pine Bluffs region

U.S. Department of Agriculture - Locally in the Pine Bluffs area there are approximately 15 certified farms and ranches; including Burns and Albin.

2016 sales of U.S Certified Organic Agricultural Production up 23 percent from 2015.

United States Department of Agriculture, regional new release. Sales of organic agricultural continued to increase in 2016, when U.S. farms produced and sold $7.6 billion in certified organic commodities, according to data released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Results of the 2016 Certified Organic Survey show that 2016 sales were up 23 percent from $6.2 billion in 2015. During the same year, the number of certified organic farms in the country increased 11 percent to 14, 217, and the number of certified acres increased 15 percent to 5.0 million.

Three states had more than 1,000 certified farms: California (2,713), Wisconsin (1,276) and New York (1,059).

Ten states accounted for 77 percent of U.S. certified organic sales, virtually the same share as in 2015 and 2014.

Crops accounted for 56 percent of the sale of certified organic production; livestock, poultry, and their products accounted for 44 percent. Organic production encompasses a wide range of commodities, including livestock and poultry products (primarily milk and eggs, with 2016 sales of $2.2 billion; vegetables, $1.6 billion; fruits, tree nuts, and berries, $1.4 billion; livestock and poultry $1.2 billion; and field crops, $763 million.

The top commodities in 2016 were: Milk ($1.4 billion, up 18 percent), Eggs ($816 million, up 11 percent), Broiler chickens ($750 million, up 78 percent), Apples ($327 million, up 8 percent) and Lettuce ($277 million, up 6 percent).