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Organic farm sales triple, new Agriculture Census data show
Crossroads Resource Center

Organic food sales more than tripled, to $1.7 billion in 2007 from $393 million in 2002, according to new data released today by USDA9s Agriculture Census.  This is an increase of 335%, though it lowers to 281% once inflation is taken into account.

3For several years, organic food sales have been driving the growth of grocery sales.2 said Ken Meter of Crossroads Resource Center, who consults with community foods initiatives in 19 states.  3Until the recent downturn, organic food sales were rising 16% per year for several years in a row.2  Many of these organic products, however, are imported from outside the U.S., as industrial producers open new lands.

Organic sales are still a relatively small share of total U.S. farm commodity sales, which totaled $297 billion in 2007.  Overall farm sales rose 48% over the previous farm census in 2002.