Studies Show Economic Benefits of Organic is Rural America

Two recent studies show that organic producers are profitable and contributing the overall good of rural American economies.

Nate Lewis with the Organic Trade Association said one study from our own backyard it’s not just limited to our economy.

“Washington State University researchers have shown in one analysis that over 20 years across five continents that organic is a profitable thing for farmers to do.”

The two studies were presented at the recent USDA Ag Outlook Forum.

Lewis also noted that Penn State University researchers have highlighted what they call hotspot counties across the U.S.

“What they showed was that we have a tremendous benefit to rural economies from organic production. If your county is considered a hotspot what we see is causality between it being a hotspot and reduction in rural poverty rates of 1.37 percent and an increase in household median income of about $2,000.”

A hotspot is a county with a high number of organic operations surrounded by counties with similar number of organic farms.