Two interesting reports came across my desk today. To some, they may represent opposing viewpoints, but both represent very active parts of our agricultural systems. I am publishing this to share the information and to help create awareness of all aspects of agriculture that surround us.
http://fruitgrowersnews.com/news/organic-industry-continues-double-digit-growth/
From Fruit Growers News, “Organic industry continues double-digit growth” at http://fruitgrowersnews.com/news/organic-industry-continues-double-digit-growth/ . They report 21,000 certified organic operations in the United States and an increase of 12 percent in one year. There is a new web service called “Organic Integrity Database” (http://apps.ams.usda.gov/integrity/) which is a modernized system for tracking certified organic operations. If you like to look at the data behind the numbers, try it out.
http://oaba.net/aws/OABA/pt/sd/news_article/120942/_PARENT/layout_details/false
From the Ohio Agribusiness Association, we are informed of a report from the International Service for the Acquisition of AgriBiotech Applications that ‘Two billion hectares of Biotech/GM crops were planted from 1996 to 2015‘. This marks the first 20 years of commercial biotech crop use. They also provide top 10 facts about the industry.