Economic Perspectives On Organic Grains: Past, Present, and Future.

The organic food industry has seen tremendous growth over the past decade. This growth has led to an increase in demand for organic grains, and has been accompanied by an increase in the number of organic farms and an expansion in organic grain acreage in the U.S.  Through this period, price premiums for organic grains over conventional grains have been fairly consistent. Similar to conventional grain farms, financial performance varies considerably among organic grain farms, with organic farms in general performing no better nor no worse than conventional farms. A review of the economic performance of organic systems shows that the economic viability of these systems is often tied to cost reductions with varying degrees of reliance on price premiums for profitability. Other trends, such as consolidation in the organic food industry, and increased competition for international markets will affect continued growth of the market for organic grains and the prices producers receive.