Rural Blog
Organic agriculture boosts local economies, says a study by Penn State for the Organic Trade Association.
The study looked at "225 counties considered organic hot spots—counties
with high levels of organic agricultural activity that have neighboring
counties with high organic activity—and then looks at how these organic
hotspots impact key county-level economic indicators," OTA reports.
Research found that being in an organic hot spot increased median income
household income by more than $2,000 and lowers a county's poverty rate
by 1.35 percent.
U.S. organic sales increased by 11 percent in 2015, Carol Ryan Dumas reports for the Western agricultural news site Capital Press.
"Total organic sales in 2015 marked the fourth-consecutive year of
double-digit growth, adding $4.2 billion in sales over 2014. Those sales
represent a 209 percent growth since 2005, when sales totaled $14
billion." Last year "total sales of organic food and non-food products
reached $43.3 billion, with organic food sales claiming about 92 percent
of all receipts at $39.7 billion, according to the Organic Trade
Association." Organic sales accounted for nearly 5 percent of all food
sold in the U.S.
1 comment:
We did not have the numbers in the 1970's but we told everyone that this was going to happen. In my city even the economic development officials are trying to help more local food production, probably because it really is the only growth industry left that provides jobs for everyone who is excluded from the meds, eds, design, and solftware economy
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