New York Ag News Headlines N.Y. Ranks Fourth in Number of Organic Farms New York Ag Connection - 02/08/2010 The 2008 Organic Production Survey counted 827 USDA-certified or exempt organic farms in the state of New York, according to Steve Ropel, director of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, New York Field Office. Nationally, New York ranks fourth in the number of organic farms behind California, Wisconsin, and Washington. Total area devoted to organic production in New York totaled 168,428 acres. Value of sales of organically produced commodities in the state totaled $105.1 million, ranking seventh nationally and accounting for 3.3 percent of total U.S. organic sales. This survey, conducted as a follow-on to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, is USDA's first ever wide-scale survey of organic farming in the United States. NASS collected data from operators of farms that were either USDA-certified organic, were making the transition to organic production, or were exempt from certification because of sales totaling less than $5,000. Copyright © 2010 - USAgNet.com. All Rights Reserved.