A small but growing sector of agriculture is what I call SLO agriculture: sustainable, local, and/or organic. My choice of acronym is a deliberate reference to slow food and slow money, two related concepts that are typically embraced by this community.
There is no accepted definition of sustainable or local, but thanks to Senator Patrick Leahy there is a useful definition of organic. Agriculture in the U.S. is organic if it complies with the National Organic Program (NOP) administered by the USDA.
Last month the USDA announced the results of its first ever Organic Production Survey (news release, full report). This was done as a followup to the 2007 Census of Agriculture. The U.S. has approximately 900 million acres of agricultural land, of which about 4 million acres are certified as organic. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack mentioned these numbers, and the survey, in his comments at the NOFA-VT Winter Conference last month.
This is small, but not insignificant, and growing. The growth is happening particularly on the coasts. We are seeing this growth in Yankee's territory.
While "sustainable" is not as well defined as "organic," the USDA has long been involved in sustainable agriculture through its support of SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education). With regard to "local," the USDA recently rolled out its Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative.
Not all of the leadership in SLO agriculture is coming from the USDA. Within Yankee's territory, major dairy farmer organizations and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture have recently been promoting local agriculture through the Keep Local Farms initiative. NOFA-VT has long been a leader in organic agriculture. Many farmers in and around Hardwick, VT have been leaders in SLO agriculture, resulting in the Hardwick Agricultural Revolution. Agri-Mark and Cabot have been involved in sustainability issues for some time. Ben & Jerry's, St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, UVM's Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture have created the Dairy Stewardship Alliance. And major buyers of food, such as Walmart, are now asking for food produced by this type of agriculture.
Over 99% of the agricultural land in the U.S. is not organic, as noted above. Not everyone is convinced that SLO agriculture will be significant. Here's an alternative viewpoint: "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" is a joke. If SLO agriculture does become significant, it will likely do so on the coasts before the midwest.
In the Summer 2007 issue of Financial Partner magazine (5MB PDF file), I wrote about historical changes in agriculture in Yankee's territory. See my column on page 2: "Ceres watches over an ever-changing landscape." See also The Forgotten Potash Economy. Will SLO agriculture be a significant part of agriculture in Yankee's territory in the future? Stay tuned.
Related posts:
SLO Agriculture and Relationships
Can SLO agriculture feed the world?
