Organic produce sales top $8.5 billion in 2020, up 14% from 2019
Organic produce outpaced growth of conventionally grown produce in both sales and volume in 2020. The 2020 performance report from the Organic Produce Network and Category Partners reported an increase for organic…
In this issue
Buy now—to avoid garden seed shortages
Beginning mid-March of 2020, an unusual thing occurred—seed sellers were suddenly overwhelmed with orders from home gardeners (or would-be ones) concerned about…
1 min read
Number of organic farms continues to grow in the U.S. and worldwide
The number of organic farms and processing facilities certified to the National Organic Program (NOP) rules continues to grow in the United…
1 min read04 · Organic NewsNational Organic Program ends Organic Recognition Agreement with India
Indian organic exporters to the U.S. must now be USDA-NOP certified The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program (NOP) recently ended…
1 min read
New research reveals measurable benefits of organic cotton production
Study by Iowa State University with The Organic Center finds important environmental benefits Conventional cotton is a chemically intensive crop with serious…
2 min read06 · Organic NewsMissouri man pleads guilty in huge organic fraud scheme
A $142 million scheme selling non-organic grain as organic ended in five people being ordered to prison. A sixth man, Steven N.…
1 min read
Organic farmer wanted. Successful organic farm in western Pennsylvania is closing after 42 years because no one wants to run it
Don Kretschmann, a 71-year-old farmer in Beaver County, PA, had advertised for ten years inviting someone to carry on the successful track…
1 min readNew guide sheds light on organic crop insurance options
Crop insurance is an important risk management tool for many farmers, and organic operations come with their own unique set of risks…
1 min read
Farmer: Non-GMO is not a niche market
Farmers discuss the rewards and challenges of growing non-GMO soybeans and corn By Ken Roseboro The non-GMO market is not a niche;…
3 min read10 · Non-GMO NewsNon-GMO soybean meal prices surge
India’s non-GMO soybean meal exports triple Prices for non-GMO soybean increased significantly in the second half of 2020. In July 2020, non-GMO…
1 min read
Plant-based food trend favors more non-GMO soybean production in Canada
Non-GMO soybeans offer Canadian farmers the opportunity for price premiums and higher demand from the growing non-GMO market. But there are also…
2 min read
Soil degradation costs U.S. corn farmers a half-billion dollars every year
One-third of the fertilizer applied to grow corn in the U.S. each year simply compensates for the ongoing loss of soil fertility,…
3 min read13 · Regenerative AgricultureCrop diversity improves the health of our water—and our climate
Agriculture in the Upper Mississippi River Basin remains far too reliant on just two crops—corn and soybeans. These crop monocultures have decreased…
2 min read
Conservation farming can boost soil lifespans, research finds
Soil is a living organism, with its own lifespan. Soil lifespan is defined as the time it would take to erode 30…
1 min read
Victory Hemp launches campaign to finance regenerative hemp production
Kentucky-based primary food ingredient processor Victory Hemp Foods recently launched a campaign to finance regenerative hemp grain production on Steward, the world’s first CrowdFarming…
3 min read
Mercaris sees record organic trading growth in 2020
Trading platform sees 48 percent increase year-over-year Trade of organic commodities did not stop despite the challenges from the global pandemic for…
1 min readHealthy Food Ingredients adds two specialty mills
Healthy Food Ingredients (HFI) recently announced the addition of two specialty mills, expanding its vertical integration within its Valley City, North Dakota…
1 min read
GMO food labeling deadline looms—and loopholes abound
According to the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS), GMO ingredients must be disclosed on product labels by December 31, 2021. Despite…
1 min read
Multiple countries take steps to stop GMOs
GMO-free campaigners had a lot to celebrate in January as several countries, including Mexico, Peru, Italy, and Tanzania made significant moves to…
1 min read
Top food service company Aramark rejects GMO salmon ahead of first U.S. sales
Three of the largest food service companies in the U.S. have rejected genetically engineered salmon Top food service company Aramark recently announced its commitment not…
3 min read
Biotech developers make false non-GMO claims about gene-edited canola and alfalfa
Developers of gene-edited canola and alfalfa are falsely claiming their creations are non-GMO when in reality the leading non-GMO certification firms prohibit…
1 min read
Lawsuit challenging FDA approval of GMO additive in Impossible Burger moves forward
FDA fails to demand needed tests, its approval not based on “convincing evidence” as required by law Center for Food Safety (CFS) recently…
2 min read
New York State bans glyphosate on public property
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill at the end of 2020 prohibiting the herbicide glyphosate on public property, beginning December…
1 min read24 · Pesticide NewsGlyphosate discovered in popular organic weed-control product
The weed treatment was working very well for organic vineyard farmers in Napa Valley, California. Then Agro Gold Weed Slayer (WS) was…
1 min read
Colombia halts aerial spraying of glyphosate
Concerned about unknown health and economic impacts on local cities, a group of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities from the Nariño region of…
1 min readGlyphosate causes DNA damage in keystone species, impacting food chain
Can a small, almost undetectable change at lower levels of the food chain affect the chain at higher points? A recent study…
1 min read
Herbicides dicamba and 2,4-D found in rainwater
Recent data from a University of Missouri study indicate that toxic herbicides commonly used on major crops have been detected in rainwater.…
1 min readFind the suppliers behind these stories
Every company lists what it supplies, with certifications checked against public registries.