Organic farming covered 96.4 million hectares worldwide in 2022, equal to 2.0% of the world’s agricultural land. The same year, organic food sales reached nearly €135 billion and 4.5 million producers were reported across 188 countries. In the United States, certified organic farms sold $11.205 billion in farm-level certified commodities in 2021. These figures describe different measures and reference periods, so acreage, farm sales, and consumer-market totals should not be treated as interchangeable.
Contents
- Global organic farmland and crop mix
- Global producers and market scale
- U.S. certified farms, land, and transition
- U.S. organic sales by sector and commodity
- Leading U.S. states by certified-organic sales
- EU organic farming scale and farm structure
Global organic farmland and crop mix
The FiBL/IFOAM annual survey reported 96.4 million hectares of organic agricultural land worldwide in 2022. That was an increase of 20.3 million hectares, or 26.6%, from 2021. Organic land therefore expanded substantially in the year covered by the survey, although the global total still represented 2.0% of all agricultural land.
The geographic distribution was uneven. Oceania contained 53.2 million hectares of organic agricultural land in 2022, while Europe contained 18.5 million hectares and Latin America contained 9.5 million hectares. Oceania’s total was dominated by its extensive organic land base, while the regional figures are area measures rather than direct comparisons of farm numbers or sales.
Land use also shows why “organic farmland” is broader than cropland alone. More than 67.6 million hectares were grassland and grazing areas in 2022. Arable land accounted for almost 15.1 million hectares, or 15.6% of organic agricultural land, and permanent crops occupied more than 6.2 million hectares, or 6.6%.
| Global organic-land measure | 2022 figure |
|---|---|
| Total organic agricultural land | 96.4 million ha |
| Grassland and grazing | More than 67.6 million ha |
| Arable land | Almost 15.1 million ha |
| Permanent crops | More than 6.2 million ha |
| Share of world agricultural land | 2.0% |
Source: FiBL/IFOAM, “Global organic area grows more than ever before”, covering 2022. The land-use categories and “more than” or “almost” wording are retained because the published figures are presented at those levels of precision.
Global producers and market scale
Organic agriculture was reported in 188 countries in 2022, with 4.5 million organic producers worldwide. India had the largest national producer total reported, at 2.5 million. It also had 4.7 million hectares of organic agricultural land. Australia had the largest national organic area, at 53.0 million hectares.
The contrast between those two country measures is useful: the country with the most producers was not the country with the most organic hectares. Producer counts and land totals reflect different aspects of the sector and should be read separately.
Global organic food sales reached nearly €135 billion in 2022. The United States was the largest organic-food market at €56.6 billion, followed by Germany at €15.3 billion and China at €12.4 billion.
| 2022 measure | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Countries with organic agriculture | 188 |
| Organic producers worldwide | 4.5 million |
| India organic producers | 2.5 million |
| Australia organic agricultural land | 53.0 million ha |
| Global organic food sales | Nearly €135 billion |
| U.S. organic-food market | €56.6 billion |
These market figures are food-market totals, whereas the U.S. figures below are certified-organic farm commodity sales. They measure different points in the supply chain. Source: FiBL/IFOAM.
U.S. certified farms, land, and transition
The 2021 USDA/NASS Organic Survey counted 17,445 certified organic farms in the United States. Those farms operated 4.9 million acres and sold $11.205 billion in certified organic commodities. The farm count was up 5% from 2019, while total certified organic acreage was down 11% over the same comparison.
The acreage change differed by land type. Certified organic cropland reached 3.6 million acres in 2021, up 3% from 2019. Certified organic pastureland declined to 1.3 million acres, down 36% from 2019. This combination means the overall acreage trend does not describe every part of the certified land base equally.
Longer-term USDA Economic Research Service data show certified organic acreage rising from 1.8 million acres in 2000 to 4.9 million acres in 2021. The number of farms with operating certified organic acreage rose from about 8,978 in 2011 to 17,409 in 2021. Over that same 2011–2021 period, certified organic cropland increased 79% to 3.6 million acres, and certified organic operations increased by more than 90% to 17,445 farms.
Transition activity provides another measure of future capacity. In 2021, 1,558 certified organic farms reported 196,923 additional acres in the multi-year transition period. Another 657 farms that were not certified reported 62,069 acres transitioning to organic production. Twenty-eight percent of certified organic farms planned to increase organic production in 2021.
Sources: NASS, “Results from the 2021 Organic Survey”, USDA release of 2021 Organics data, and USDA ERS, “Organic Agriculture”. The 2021 U.S. figures are certified-organic statistics; transition acreage is reported separately from certified acreage.
U.S. organic sales by sector and commodity
In 2021, crops generated $6.1 billion, or 54% of U.S. certified organic sales. Livestock, poultry, and related products generated $5.1 billion, or 46%. The split shows a near balance between crop and animal-related commodity sales, even though their individual products differ substantially.
The largest listed animal-related categories were certified organic milk at $1.633 billion, broiler chickens at $1.509 billion, and eggs at $1.221 billion. Among the listed crops, apples generated $629 million, corn for grain $424 million, strawberries $336 million, grapes $309 million, lettuce $276 million, soybeans $242 million, spinach $215 million, potatoes $183 million, alfalfa dry hay $179 million, and wheat $139 million.
| Certified organic commodity | 2021 sales |
|---|---|
| Milk | $1.633 billion |
| Broiler chickens | $1.509 billion |
| Eggs | $1.221 billion |
| Apples | $629 million |
| Corn for grain | $424 million |
| Strawberries | $336 million |
| Grapes | $309 million |
| Lettuce | $276 million |
| Soybeans | $242 million |
The same USDA data reported production quantities for selected open-field crops: 5.57 million hundredweight of certified organic tomatoes, 5.25 million hundredweight of potatoes, and 3.9 million hundredweight of lettuce in 2021. Sales and production quantities are different measures; a larger production total does not by itself establish a larger sales value.
Source: NASS, “Results from the 2021 Organic Survey” and USDA ERS, “Organic Agriculture”. These are farm-level certified-organic commodity sales, not retail-sales estimates.
Leading U.S. states by certified-organic sales
Certified-organic sales were concentrated among the leading states reported by USDA/NASS for 2021. California recorded $3.550 billion, ahead of Washington at $1.140 billion and Pennsylvania at $1.094 billion. Texas recorded $572 million, Oregon $386 million, and New York $328 million.
| State | Certified-organic sales in 2021 |
|---|---|
| California | $3.550 billion |
| Washington | $1.140 billion |
| Pennsylvania | $1.094 billion |
| Texas | $572 million |
| Oregon | $386 million |
| New York | $328 million |
These are state-level farm sales of certified organic commodities. They should not be compared directly with the global consumer-market totals above, which use euros and represent organic-food markets rather than the same farm-level series.
Source: NASS, “Certified Organic Farms - Top 10 States: 2021”.
EU organic farming scale and farm structure
Eurostat estimated that organic farming represented 10.8% of utilised agricultural area in the European Union in 2023. Organic area in 26 EU countries expanded by 7.6 million hectares, or 84%, between 2013 and 2023. The cited 2023 coverage excludes Greece because its data were still under validation, so the estimate should be read with that limitation in mind.
The available 2020 structural indicators show organic farms were larger on average than non-organic farms. Organic farms averaged 42.4 hectares, compared with 15.9 hectares for non-organic farms. Their average standard output was €86,400, compared with €37,500 for non-organic farms.
Organic farms also averaged 21.7 livestock units in 2020, versus 12.5 for non-organic farms. They averaged 1.5 annual work units, compared with 0.8. Despite those higher average measures, organic farms represented 2.7% of EU agricultural holdings and 6.0% of EU agricultural standard output in 2020.
| EU farm indicator | Organic farms | Non-organic farms |
|---|---|---|
| Average area, 2020 | 42.4 ha | 15.9 ha |
| Average standard output, 2020 | €86,400 | €37,500 |
| Average livestock units, 2020 | 21.7 | 12.5 |
| Average annual work units, 2020 | 1.5 | 0.8 |
Source: Eurostat, “Key figures on the European food chain - 2025 edition”. The 2023 EU coverage is an estimate, while the structural comparisons use 2020 reference data.