Between 2019 and 2021, the number of certified organic farms with organic production in the country increased by 5 percent to 17,445, and the number of certified acres decreased by 11 percent to 4.9 million.
Sedric and Michelle Drake of Turlock founded Drake’s Greens in 2020. Their microgreens, grown solely with water, organic soil, and ocean-based fertilizer, have become wildly popular. They are currently in the process of becoming a certified organic grower.
“We’ve experienced more people asking about our practices and how we grow,” said Michelle Drake, alluding to the growing popularity of organic products. “We grow organic, and we just don’t have the certified designation yet. We’re in the process right now of becoming certified. We’ve definitely felt the push to begin the process to obtain that designation on our label.”
Certified organic cropland increased by 3 percent to 3.6 million acres, while certified organic pastureland declined 36 percent to 1.3 million acres. Again, California led the way — in both the number of farms and acres, with 3,061 certified farms and 813,710 acres.
Read more at turlockjournal.com