The Changing Face of Agriculture?

[SecularMotion]

At Gallatin Valley Botanical, Matt and Jacy Rothschiller increased their acreage by 50 percent last year. Still, they sold everything their farm produced, thanks to a growing interest in organic food.

Restaurants and grocery stores are increasingly stocking their menus and shelves with certified organic products, a trend that’s reflected in both local and national production.

According to the most recent Certified Organic Survey from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, certified organic sales in the U.S. went up 13 percent from 2014 to 2015. The 12,818 certified organic farms across the country sold $6.2 billion worth of dairy products, eggs and meat, vegetables and field crops last year.

California and Wisconsin have the highest number of organic farms, numbering more than 1,000 in each state. Though Montana has just 138, some of them are expansive. The treasure state ranks third in the nation for number of certified organic acres, with 251,000. It ranks first for number of organic wheat acres, and second for organic dry peas, lentils and flax.

http://www.belgrade-news.com/news/agriculture/article_c6af8e3a-85da-11e6-87ea-37522a993279.html

[womanofthehills]

1. I love organic restaurants that have their own hoop houses/greenhouses right next to the restaurant

We have a new one that is going to open soon near Tome, NM - The owners are doing so well with their organic raspberry farm (they use turkeys to eat the bugs) they are fixing up an old adobe house for the restaurant. A hoop house will provide most of the organic produce.

All of the Albuquerque organic stores carry local produce even Whole Foods. You get to know who grows what and where. Like Tony's peaches are grown in the South Valley of Albuquerque and tons of them will appear late summer in the stores. One of our organic stores claims 20 per cent of their produce is locally grown - they are trying to increase that number. We are now seeing many small organic farms and co-op farms in the South Valley of Albuquerque.