Report: Wis. leads nation in sale of organic cranberries and beef cows, 2nd in number of farms

Report: Wisconsin 2nd in nation in organic farms

MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin leads the U.S. in the sale of organically produced cranberries and beef cows and is second in the number of organic farms, according to a federal summary released Tuesday.

However, the state’s organic farms are smaller on average than similar ones in other states, so Wisconsin is only sixth in total organic sales.

The report, produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, quotes numbers from 2008, the most current information available.

Wisconsin had 1,222 organic farms that year, and most of their revenue came from the sale of organic cow milk. California had more than twice as many organic farms, or 2,714, with many of those focused on the production of fruits and vegetables.

To get a USDA-certified organic label, growers have to adhere to strict regulations that prohibit the use of chemicals.

For example, fertilizer can be manure-based but not chemical-based, and the few permissible pesticides are mainly plant-derived. Livestock must be fed organically grown feed and can’t be given hormones. If they’re given antibiotics to treat an illness they can no longer be sold under an organic label.

About two-thirds of Wisconsin’s organic revenue came from cow milk, and a quarter came from crops. The rest came from livestock and poultry.

Those numbers might surprise Wisconsin residents who are more used to seeing organic labels when they buy produce at farmers’ markets, said Audrey Muhlenkamp, a statistician with the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

“That just shows how big milk is here. It makes up the heart of what’s organic,” she said. “

Even so, Wisconsin organic farms tend to be smaller than some in other states, so the quantity doesn’t translate into whopping revenue.

For example, Wisconsin had 479 organic dairy farms, which had $85.1 million in sales. Texas, in contrast, had only nine farms producing organic milk, but it racked up nearly the same revenue — $80.9 million.

“You know what they say, everything is bigger in Texas,” Muhlenkamp joked.

The federal report marks the first time the USDA has studied organic production as a separate category, Muhlenkamp said, so it’s hard to pinpoint any trends.

She did note that more than 80 percent of Wisconsin farmers said in 2008 they planned to increase or maintain their organic production in the next five years. But Muhlenkamp acknowledged that the subsequent economic downturn may have caused some farmers to reconsider.

On the Net:

USDA Census of Agriculture: www.agcensus.usda.gov/

Dinesh Ramde can be reached at dramde(at)ap.org.