Go Organic Go Local! | What Organic Produce to You Buy the Most? | Top 7 Organic Crops Sold in the US

 

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

If you read Robert Kiyosaki’s book

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

one of his key points it that you don’t here people taking about best written books it’s “best sellers.” That got me thinking what are the most organic crops sold in the organic produce world?

So I was doing some research on what organic crops people are buying in the U.S. The most recent report  (1)  I could find was from 2017.

Young's Farms crops with Aiden Finney

Young’s Farms transitioned to Organic on the advice from other farmers in their county.

There were 14,217 certified organic farms growing vegetables and another almost 3000 growing fruit in the U.S. 2016.

Organic Lettuce Crops were far and above as the number one best seller!

#1 = Lettuce totaling $277 million dollars in sales!

#2 = Tomatoes $174 milion

#3 = Potatoes $150 million

#4 = Spinach $114 million

#5 = Sweet Potatoes $101 million (grown in Mississippi and North Carolina.)

#6 = Carrots $88 million

#7 = Broccoli $70 million

Another 3000 farms grow some $800,000 of Fruit including citrus and berries

So this has me thinking if you were going to sell organic produce at the market it probably makes sense to focus on these products.

One thing Mike and I were interested in was how much food was grown in Maine. We were delighted to see they were amongst the biggest producers of berries! Maine was also the biggest producer of wild blueberries! After California, Oregon, Washington and Maine were all similar.

According to Ecowatch(2) these 10 states had the most sales for Organic Produce.

  1. California
  2. Washington
  3. Pennsylvania
  4. Oregon
  5. Wisconsin
  6. Texas
  7. New York
  8. Colorado
  9. Michigan 
  10. Iowa

Go Organic Go Local!

Ecowatch(2) also said that not only is consumer spending up 72 % since 2008 but 80% of organic sales are within 500 miles of the farm!

According to the USDA 2012 Census (3) the majority of organic farmers are between 55 and 65 years old!  Organic Farms are also mostly run by men who have been living and operating their farm for 18 years on average.

  1. https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/zg64tk92g/70795b52w/4m90dz33q/OrganicProduction-09-20-2017_correction.pdf
  2. https://www.ecowatch.com/these-10-states-account-for-a-whopping-78-in-sales-of-organic-food-1882106375.html
  3. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2012/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/st99_1_053_054.pdf

Organic Crops Infographic 2016

 

About the author, Jackie Marie

I'm an artist and educator. I live at the "Organic Oasis" with my husband Mike where we practice earth friendly techniques in our garden nestled in the mountains of Montana.

Leave a Comment