2019 ASHS Annual Conference

The research of the organic certification drivers has been important to expand the supply of organic foods. However, very few studies have compared the characteristics of certified farmers with those operations that dropped out the certification program, and those that are not interested in certifying organic. The purpose of this article is three-fold: First, to determine key factors influencing farmers’ lack of interest in organic certification; second, evaluate the characteristics that drive or deter farmers’ to certify organic; and third, assess the main characteristics of farmers that dropped their certification status.

We used data obtained from a 2012 web-based survey of fruit and vegetable farmers that were part of the Food Industry MarketMaker database. We grouped producers in three categories. The first category was the group of farmers that were not interested in. The second group was the USDA organic certified farmers. The third group was the group of farmers that were certified and dropped the certification program. We made multiple comparisons among farmers categories in the analysis of ANOVA models using Tukey’s honestly significant difference method.

The results showed that education can influence farmers to become organic certified, irrespective if they choose to drop their certification in the future. Access to labor and time on-farm business were also a key factor in affecting organic certification status. These differences suggest that organic certified farms tend to require more labor, and the lack of it may lead farmers to decertify or to be not interested. In addition, sales analysis may suggest that organic certification costs are too high for small fruit and vegetable operations. It appears the smaller the farm, the less likely they certify or remain certified. Access to market channels is a major factor influencing farmers’ certification status. Most growers not interested in organic certification sell their produce mainly in direct-to-consumers channels such as farmers markets. Farmers selling directly to consumers may not need the organic label to access price premiums for organically grown produce.

Our findings can help policymakers, industry stakeholders, extension agents and researchers to derive incentives and programing to enhance the organic objectives and support the long-term sustainability of organic agriculture.