Organic Farming in North Carolina
Organic Farming in North Carolina
“No man may poison the people for private profit”
— Theodore Roosevelt
The southern states have been reported to have the smallest numbers of organic farmers; however, the demand for organic produce in the South is rising. In a 2017 study conducted by Berkeley Food Institute in California, North Carolina have a total of 71,993 acres of organic acreage, with a total number of 180 certified organic farms.
Statistics of North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Source: Berkeley Food Institute
While the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services does not offer organic certifications, it does provide a range of services to farmers:
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Guidance documents on organic transitioning and preparing for organic certification.
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Links to the National Organic Program (NOP)
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Links to the Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education (SARE) program (and to other states organic pages)
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Links to certifiers that operate in the state
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Marketing help for producers on request
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Maintains a searchable online listing of producers by crop, ecological status, and many other parameters.
In 2017, North Carolina had a significant demand for organic grains but no adequate supply system to accommodate the request. The report also identified that organic production occurred in small pockets around the state, which were not well placed to serve the demand for organic produce. The location of the farms affected the access (either positively or negatively) to markets which could affect if a farmer could successfully transition to organic techniques.
In this oral history project, we spoke to farmers who farm organically, and those who chose to continue with conventional methods. In his interview, Joe Rowland of Rowland Row Farms, Gold Hill, North Carolina discussed his experiences with producing organic vegetables and his thoughts on the procedures an organic farmer has to go through:
“And especially organic growers like, we're the future and we're saving the industry or something I think that sometimes, and I fell into that, and I think it's naive. And it's somewhat insulting to other farmers or to conventional farmers to say that they're not doing, they're doing what the market has asked them to do.”
— Joe Rowland, Rowland Row Farm, Gold Hill NC
In smaller operations, organic farming in conjecture with the procedures and requirements set out by the USDA can make it difficult for farmers to produce organic produce and sell it at a profit, especially if farmers do not have access to the markets that want (and can afford) organic produce.
David Correll, a 5th generation farmer in Cleveland, North Carolina discussed the misconceptions many people have of Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs.) A common trend among North Carolina farmers is their interactions with the public who do not understand the work that goes into producing organic (or non-organic) food.
Here is a link to the full interview [link interview]