Apr 10, 2023
Analysis: Nearly 8.3 million acres of certified organic land harvested in 2022

Nearly 8.3 million acres of U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified organic and non-GMO land were harvested in 2022 across more than 19,000 certified organic farms.

Those numbers come from data service company Mercaris. The company’s Acreage Analyzer tool enables users to visualize U.S. identity-preserved acreage from multiple angles as well as identify historical acreage and market trends.

An analysis found that 8.3 million acres of U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified organic and non-GMO land were harvested in 2022 across more than 19,000 certified organic farms. Photo: File

“Following a decline in certified organic pasture and rangeland, the area dedicated to organic field crop production accounted for the largest share of total certified organic land,” Ryan Koory, Mercaris vice president of economics, said in a news release. “Land utilized for organic field crop production reached nearly 3.7 million acres over 2022, holding mostly flat with the prior year for the first time since 2016 when Mercaris began collecting this data.”

The distribution of acres across organic crops appears to have shifted in 2022, the analysis found.

“Acres dedicated to organic oilseed production increased 23% over 2022, with organic soybeans alone increasing by more than 74,000 acres,” Koory said. “These gains appear to have come at the cost of organic corn and organic small grains, with those acres declining 1% and 9%, respectively, over the last year. Organic wheat acres also increased over 2022, supported mostly by a 6% increase in organic spring wheat acres.”

While certified organic acreage held largely steady through 2022, land planted with non-GMO corn and soybean seeds is estimated to have fallen by more than a million acres during 2022. According to USDA data, U.S. non-GMO corn and soybean planting declined 9% year-over-year to less than 10.6 million acres in 2022.

The decline follows a reduction in non-GMO corn and soybean acres and a general increase in the use of GMO seeds nationwide.


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