Title: The changing interest in organic agriculture in Texas and its implications for Texas AgriLife Extension Service
Summary: Demand for organic products has drastically increased and is the fastest growing agricultural sector. The market for organic products has increased by 15 to 21% annually for the past 10 years, with retail sales increasing from $3.6 billion in 1997 to $21.1 billion in 2008 (Dimitri & Oberholtzer, 2009). While the amount of organic agricultural land more than doubled from 1997 to 2005, from 1.3 million acres in 1997 to just over 4 million, it has not been enough to keep up with demand (Dimitri & Oberholtzer, 2009). The U.S. currently exports $125 million to $250 million of organic agricultural products, but imports $1.5 billion (Constance & Choi, 2010). As Dimitri and Oberholtzer (2009) noted, "despite the growing demand for organic food products, many U.S. farmers are reluctant to switch to organic production methods" (p. 11).Constance and Choi (2010) found that more than 40% of Texas farmers currently operating conventional farms had at least some interest in organic agriculture. They concluded that more institutional support from land-grant universities and Extension is needed to increase adoption of organic agriculture in Texas. An Organic Working Group was created by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service to address the growing needs and demands for information on organic agriculture. The working group established four goals, with the highest priority goal being to assess Texas Extension agents' needs for information on organic agriculture, and the resources they need to meet the demand (J. G. Masabni, personal communication, September 10, 2010). The study reported here sought to determine the level of demand Texas AgriLife Extension agents are receiving for information on organic agriculture and their interest in training on organic agriculture. A majority of agents perceived the interest in organic agriculture was low to moderate in their respective counties, but was increasing. Agents indicated they had not received much formal training in organic agriculture but expressed an interest in training and noted traditional information resources and Extension workshops would be the most useful. [Patrick T. Lillard & James R. Lindner (2012). The changing interest in organic agriculture in Texas and its implications for Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Journal of Extension, 50(3), n.p.] Comment
