Farmers: Not Enough Organic

Lauren Styler

KOMU-TV8 - Missouri

February 6, 2010

COLUMBIA - Farmers across the country gathered in Columbia this weekend for the Missouri Organic Association's annual conference to find ways to increase the number of Midwestern organic farms.

About 250 people from eight states talked about the virtues of organic food.

"I've raised my kids on all organic, or predominantly organic, and they've never been to a physician," farm inspector Kathy Turner said.

"I didn't have much choice - I couldnt have chemicals in my blood anymore," Kansas farmer Phil Lewis said.

But the numbers show they're in the minority of the farm industry that's gone organic. The USDA spends only 1.9 percent of its research budget on organic farming, and organic acreage is less than 0.5 percent of all U.S. farmland. Missouri is the second-largest farming state, with 105,000 farms. Earlier this month, the USDA released a study confirming that fewer than 200 Missouri farms were organic.

But the Missouri Organic Association is ready to change those numbers.

"We're behind them a little bit but were fixing to take off," association president Sue Baird said.

Local grocery stores like Clover's in Columbia have supported local organic farmers for years, and big corporations are starting to catch on. Chipotle mexican grill buys some of its black beans from Missouri organic farmers.

Robbin Hail sells most of her crops to Whole Foods grocery store.

"They approached us once at a farmer's market and they said, 'We like the quality,'" she said.

The conference brought more than twice as many people as last year. Organizers said that signals an increasing interest in organic farming.

komu.com