Demand for organic food growing faster than supply

The Chesapeake Bay Journal is carrying an article that talks about how the demand for organic food is growing faster than organic farmers can supply. Sales of organic food have jumped from $3 billion in 1997 to more than $10 billion in 2003, and the growth is expected to continue.

Sadly though, farmers who utilize conventional farming methods are afraid to convert their farms to organic because of the initial costs. To transition your farm requires that you must commit to using no pesticides, antibiotics, or growth horomones for 3 full years. However farmers that do make the transition end up doing better financially in the long run. But the transition period is difficult because during the 3 year process the farmer must sell his/her produce on the conventional market, and without pesticides there can be a lower crop yield.

For some farmers, the costs of a three-year “transition” period-when yields and, consequently, farm sales fall-outweigh the benefits of the “premium” they will ultimately earn. But most farmers see their yields rebound by the time they have completed the transition to organic farming, Bowman said, and many can keep yields high during transition-but only through careful soil management and crop selection.

Demand for organic food is likely to grow, experts say, because consumers are more likely to see organically grown food as a healthy and nutritious option to conventionally grown products, studies show.