John Phipps: The Slow Growth of Going Organic in Agriculture

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 17:27:54 GMT

A straightforward question from Melody Kappenman from Leaf River, Illinois:

“How much is organic farming growing year to year? I’m hearing more & more about organic foods being available. Is organic farming anywhere near half of all farming in the United States and/or the world?”

This is a great question, and the answer was mildly surprising.

To begin with, data about organic products usually comes from producer organizations along with numbers from the USDA. While they show historic sales growth they almost never compare it to total retail food sales. For example, here is a chart showing organic sales since 2005. $60 billion dollars is pretty impressive. Until you compare it with total food sales.

Sales of food consumed at home were $1.05T in 2022 with food away from home $1.35T. Organic numbers are production, and USDA numbers are consumption.

Organic share of the food market is then anywhere from 2.5% to 6% depending on how you measure. Global organic sales are roughly twice as large, $133B, but total global food sales are three times as large, so the organic share is less than 2%.

Organic sales are growing but have a long way to go to comprise half of our consumption. Part of the problem with increasing organic sales is some food is really hard to produce organically. The biggest segment – produce – has been the most successful, but not all plants lend themselves to organic production.

Organic dairy is challenging since the rules require organic feed, housing rules, ration and medicine restrictions, and more. Organic meat production has many of the same hurdles, but the largest is organic feed components are difficult to produce, particularly meeting the non-GMO standards for corn.

Inflation has made consumers price sensitive, and organic production requires higher prices to offset costs.

The growth of U.S. organic market has been met in part by imports, especially fruits. I doubt organic market share will increase much due to such production issues, but also because objective proof of organic advantages for consumers is still sparse.

European Organic Farming Company ‘Thinks Outside the Box’ with Biomethane Tractor

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 16:33:43 GMT

An organic food producer in Europe taking the machinery world by surprise, unveiling the world’s first hybrid bio-methane and electric tractor.

Auga says its M1 tractor can replace a 400 horsepower diesel tractor and run for up to 12 hours thanks to larger, quick-change bio-methane gas cartridges.

As its CEO says, the company took on a project three years ago to focus on sustainability and was ‘shocked’ to see its CO2 emissions total.

Auga is a Lithuanian-based company that manages more than 96,000 acres of organic farming including crops, dairy cows, chickens and mushroom growing. The company employs more than 1,200 people.

“Our mission is to bring technology to farmers and create a new carbon value chain, deliver consumers food with no cost to nature, and by consuming the foot people will be making a positive impact on climate change every day,” says company CEO Kęstutis Juščiu. “We will produce a model for food production at no cost to nature.”

He says the company recognized that it needed to “think outside of the box” to bring new ways to address its emissions and carbon footprint.

To develop a zero-emission tractor, the company focused on using replaceable biomethane cartridges. The M1 tractor is powered by a hybrid gas and electric motor with a biomethane internal combustion engine generating energy and transferring it directly to electric motors that spin the wheels.

Jusciu explains the design of the tractor allows it to weigh one-third less than a conventional tractor, which will help reduce soil compaction. The engineering also allows the tractor to tow heavy implements at a lower energy consumption.

He says this is just one step in the company’s journey with more news to come in the next year specific to livestock.

You can watch the unveiling of the M1 tractor here:

Organic Dairy

John Phipps: The Slow Growth of Going Organic in Agriculture

European Organic Farming Company ‘Thinks Outside the Box’ with Biomethane Tractor