WASHINGTON—Organic farms are a tiny proportion of all American farms, making up less than 1 percent, according to USDA’s first in-depth survey of organic farming. The Wall Street Journal reported American organic farms number 14,540 out of a total of 2.2 million U.S. farms, and generated $3.16 billion in sales in 2008. They report organic farms use just 4.1 million acres of land out of the 922 million acres of land used by all types of U.S. farms.
The USDA survey also found California, the biggest organic farming state, had 20 percent of the nation's operations and $1.15 billion in 2008 organic sales.
The eight-page questionnaires were mailed to organic farm owners in May 2009. The USDA survey included farms in transition to organic, noncertified farms and certified organic farms. Producers were asked about crops, livestock, marketing, sales figures, fertilizer, fuel, seeds, labor, feed, property taxes and how land is divided among crops and livestock. Also they were asked about farming practices to control pests and weeds, if they limit tillage and if they use animal or "green" manures.