Special category report: The Rise of Organic Grains and Flours - 7

Organic food sales dominated by
produce in 2019
3.7%
12.9%

13.3%

6.1%
13.5%

2.8%

36.4%
11.4%

Dairy & eggs
Fruit & vegetables
Breads & grains
Meat, poultry & fish
Beverages
Snack foods
Packaged &
prepared foods
Condiments

SOURCE: Organic Trade Association Organic Industry Survey 2020

building a nationwide milling, processing and
distribution infrastructure to ensure a market
for growers and to fully satisfy customer
demand for organic grain-based products.
According to the USDA, the amount of
US farmland devoted to organic grains (corn,
wheat, oats, barley and soybeans) grew by
more than 20% from 626,000 to 765,000
acres from 2008 to 2016. That compares with
planted area of nearly 233 million acres for
those crops in 2016, or less than 1% of the
crop area. More than 5 million total acres was
devoted to organic farming in 2016, of which
2.3 million acres were pasture and ranch land.
Like the discrepancy in acres, the amount of
organic grain is dwarfed by the overall market.
" For the 2019-20 marketing year, we
estimated that US organic wheat food use and
residual reached about 13 million bus, " said
Ryan Koory, director of economics for Mercaris,
the organic and non-GMO grain and oilseed
market intelligence and trading service. " And
we estimate this number likely to climb to 13.9

million bus over the 2020-21 marketing year. "
In contrast, US all wheat production was
estimated by the USDA at 1,826 million bus
in 2019-20.
Prices received for organic grains tend to be
at least double those of conventionally grown
grains, helping to offset the lengthy entry
period and often lower yields of organic crops,
but are not isolated from market volatility.
" Like conventional grains, the price of
organic grains can be volatile, and prices
have been described as an 'unstable
rollercoaster' relative to the difference
between the organic premium and
conventional prices, " the USDA said.
In many cases, food processors have
contracted with farmers to ensure a market
for their organic products. As the market
continues to grow, marketing channels should
grow as well, which in turn will encourage
more farmers to produce organic products and
reduce the dependence on imports.
- Ron Sterk, Milling & Baking News

To learn more about organic flour & grains, please visit: ArdentMills.com/OrganicHub

https://www.ardentmills.com/organichub?utm_medium=category_report&utm_source=bakingbusiness&utm_campaign=organic&utm_content=optimize

Special category report: The Rise of Organic Grains and Flours

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