Growing Organic Agriculture Sector Gets a Boost from Northeast States

The 2022 Census of Agriculture, conducted by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), collected more than 6 million data points about America's farms and ranches and the people who operate them. This included information on organic agriculture like producer characteristics (15% were under the age of 35, for example), farm specialization and top states and counties.

While California was the leader in organic agriculture in 2022, accounting for 39% of the total U.S. value of organic products sold, states and counties in the Northeast region also contributed to the 32% increase in organic sales from 2017 to 2022. Pennsylvania, for example, trailed only California and Washington in organic sales with $628 million. New York's $225 million in organic sales is ninth in the nation.

New York was one of three states - trailing only California and Wisconsin - to have more than 1,000 farms (1,067) with organic product sales. Of the 243 counties in Northeast states, which include Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, 44% (107 counties) sold $1 million or more in organic products. There were 38 counties that each sold $6 million or more.

Combined, the region's 11 states sold $1.2 billion in organic products. Some states showed significant increases in organic agriculture sales from 2017, including New Jersey, where value of sales nearly tripled (a 193% increase), Rhode Island, where sales doubled (a 103% increase), and Maryland, where organic sales increased 68%.

In late 2025 as a follow-on to the 2022 ag census, NASS will begin conducting the 2025 Organic Survey. This survey is a census of all known U.S. farmers and ranchers, including USDA certified organic producers, organic producers exempt from certification (those grossing less than $5,000 annually from organic sales), and producers transitioning to organic production. This follow-on to the 2022 ag census will provide even greater detail about organic farms and the people who operate them.

If you are a producer who does not receive NASS surveys and censuses, sign up to be counted to help show the value of American agriculture.