Organic/Sustainable Farming

What can be done to heal the fractured organic movement?

Long-time organic community members say healing the rift will require mutual respect, trust, staying engaged, and realizing a common purpose.

Debunking “alternate facts” about pesticides used in organic farming

A deeper look into the dubious claims that organic farmers use toxic pesticides

University of Minnesota study: Organic corn produces better yields grown organically than conventionally

Organic corn seed varieties produced strong yields in field trials held in two Minnesota locations in 2016. The trials showed that organic corn grown using organic farming methods produced higher yields than the same corn grown using conventional methods. The trials, which were held at the University of Minnesota’s West Central Research and Outreach Center […]

Certified Transitional program offers opportunities and challenges to organic industry

Certified Transitional programs are emerging to boost U.S. organic farming acres by helping farmers make the three-year transition to organic production and sell their transitional crops.

Report: U.S. organic farmland hits record 4.1 million acres in 2016

A new report has found that U.S. land for organic farming reached 4.1 million acres in 2016, a new record and an 11 percent increase compared to 2014. As of June 2016, the number of certified organic farms in the U.S. reached 14,979, a 6.2 percent increase of 1,000 farms compared to 2014 survey data. […]