organic

With the expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill on September 30th, the question running through farm county is what programs have stopped and what programs continue?   “Some programs that are called orphan programs that effective September 30th basically stopped," said Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.  "There a...

Building capacity building infrastructure, building demand, all aspects of the USDA grant program centered on organic growers and the organic industry.   “We're excited to announce our 4th and final round of the Organic Market Development Grants. This is $...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today previewed the Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards final rule.

The organic agriculture sector has been a growing segment for over 100 years but was really spurred in the 1990s. Now, Washington's Congressman from the 4th District, Dan Newhouse, has introduced legislation to help continue building on the organic agriculture front.

Governor Brad Little has declared July 16-22, 2023, as Idaho Organics Week, a dedicated time to formally acknowledge and celebrate Idaho’s organic agriculture.

The organic market has seen continued growth in retail sales in the past decade.  However, according to ERS, the pace of growth has slowed.  U.S. organic retail sales increased by an average of 8% per year and surpassed $53 billion in 2020.  In 2021, sales we...

Organic fresh produce sales grew by 3% last year while total volume dropped by 3.7%.  The Organic Produce Network said total sales topped $9.4 billion for the year.  The 2022 Organic Produce Performance Report says the fresh berry category was the top organic produce category with more than 16% of organic fresh produce dollars in 2022.  Fresh berry sales...

The USDA announced additional assistance for dairy producers, including a second round of payments through the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program.  The agency also announced a new Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program.  USDA sa...

Last week, USDA’s National Organic Program published the Strengthening Organic Enforcement final rule.  The update to USDA organic regulations strengthens oversight and enforcement of the production, handling, and sale of organic products.  The final rul...

In the fight against pests, the University of Idaho is looking to the skies.  Jason Thomas said University of Idaho Extension has a long-running project, building, distributing and monitoring wooden houses for nesting barn owls, primarily in the SE corner of the state.  Roughly...