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May 25, 2018 CapitalPress.com 9 Organic food sales up 6.4 percent in 2017 50 By CAROL RYAN DUMAS U.S. organic food sales Capital Press Organic food sales in the U.S. have come a long way in 20 years, growing from $3.4 billion in 1997 to $45.2 bil- lion in 2017. Last year’s sales were up 6.4 percent year over year, well above the 1.1 percent growth in the overall food mar- ket and claiming 5.5 percent of the nearly $822.2 billion in total sales. “Consumers love organic, and now we’re able to choose organic in practically every aisle of the store,” Laura Bat- cha, CEO and executive direc- tor of the Organic Trade Asso- ciation, said in a press release accompanying the latest data on organic sales. The 2018 Organic Industry Survey was conducted in Janu- 40 (Billions of dollars) 35.1 $45.2 billion: Up 121.7% from 2008 25.1 30 20.4 20 Source: Organic Trade Association, 2018 Organic Industry Survey Alan Kenaga/Capital Press 10 2008 ’11 ’14 2017 EO Media Group Bins of fresh, organic peppers beckon shoppers at the Safe- way store in Pendleton, Ore. ary by Nutrition Business Jour- nal on behalf of OTA, with 250 companies participating. The growth rate was below the 9 percent increase seen in 2016 and the double-digit in- creases from 2012 to 2015, but some slowdown was expected as the organic market matures. New channel and product ex- pansions are becoming more incremental rather than revolu- tionary, according to OTA. “The organic market will see a steadier pace of growth as it matures, but it will continue to surpass the growth rate of the broader food market,” Bat- cha said. Produce remained the top organic category in 2017 with $16.5 billion in sales on 5.3 percent growth. Fresh produce accounted for 90 percent of those sales, but organic dried beans, dried fruits and dried vegetables increased 9 percent. Organic beverages rose 10.9 percent to $5.9 billion, making it the third-largest organic category. The driv- er was fresh juices with $1.2 billion in sales, an increase of 25 percent. Non-dairy organic beverage alternatives such as almond, soy, coconut and rice drinks also gained popularity. But it was a challeng- ing year in the dairy and egg category. While still the sec- ond-largest selling organic category, sales grew just 0.9 percent to $6.5 billion. Many producers have en- tered the organic dairy market over the last several years, cre- ating a new wave of supply. But that supply hit the market as de- mand for organic milk began to shift to more plant-based bever- ages — creating a situation of too much of a good thing, OTA said. Despite the slump in milk sales, sales of organic ice cream were up more than 9 percent in 2017, and organic cheese sales grew by almost 8 percent. In the egg market, pas- ture-raised eggs presented stiff competition for organic eggs in 2017. OTA blames the fallout in poultry and dairy on USDA, saying the requirements re- garding outdoor access for organic poultry and livestock are unclear and inconsistently applied. USDA axes organic checkoff proposal Pest alerts on rise following mild winter By CAROL RYAN DUMAS By BRAD CARLSON Capital Press Capital Press USDA has terminated a proposed rule to establish a national research and promo- tion program for organic prod- ucts, citing a “split within the industry in terms of support” for a checkoff program. The action comes following a public comment period on the proposal that closed April 19 in which the agency received near- ly 15,000 comments. “While some comments voiced support for a collective industry program, other com- ments stated that industry was not aligned in backing the pro- posal,” USDA stated. Support for a checkoff was led by the Organic Trade Asso- ciation, which shaped the pro- posal over five years and con- tends it was comprehensive, thoroughly vetted and strongly supported. “The $50 billion organ- ic sector offers opportunities for U.S. organic farmers and businesses. It makes no sense that the agency is continuing to take steps to cut it off at the knees,” OTA said in a press release following USDA’s an- nouncement. “USDA unilaterally mak- ing the decision on behalf of the 26,000-plus certified or- ganic growers, ranchers, pro- cessors, handlers and business owners to not advance the pro- cess is stunning,” OTA said. On the other side, the No Organic Checkoff Coalition spearheaded the opposition, contending a federal mandatory checkoff is not the right solu- tion for the growing domestic industry. The coalition, representing 6,000 organic farmers across the country, issued a statement on Wednesday saying a check- off would have served as anoth- er tax on farmers, both through direct assessment and proces- sors passing down the cost. “Existing checkoff pro- grams have a history of cor- ruption and using funds Insect and fungal pest numbers are exceeding last year’s levels, keeping Rich Guggenheim busy. “It has been a busier year,” the University of Idaho Ex- tension Canyon County hor- ticulture educator said. “The mild winter meant people were able to see things going on, without the snow. And be- cause it was mild, some of the diseases and pests over-win- tered well. So there are more. And because it has been Capital Press File A split among organic farmers has led USDA to drop a proposal for a checkoff program for the industry. inappropriately, with poor rep- resentation of farmer priorities in granting of research dollars,” NOCC said. Its list of objections also in- cludes restrictions on promot- ing the benefits of organic, in- creased organic imports due to the challenges of increasing do- mestic organic acreage and cre- ating an “unworkable” program that lumps all organic products together as a single commodity. “Organic farmers together can come up with the solu- tions to address the needs of the growing organic market” without hurting the very farm- ers that built the movement, Ed Maltby, executive director of Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, an NOCC member, said. Jim Gerritsen, president of the Organic Seed and Trade Association — which was an early member of NOCC — said organic farmers have had negative experiences with oth- er commodity checkoff pro- grams. “I don’t know a single farmer that would voluntarily take part in a checkoff program, especially the half-baked pro- posal from OTA,” he said. Checkoffs are an involun- tary tax on farmers and don’t work. Any increased sales from checkoff programs don’t trickle down to the farmer, he said. “If processors want to in- crease their sales, they should warmer this spring, they are coming out earlier.” The Cald- well, Ida- ho-based Gug- Rich genheim, who Guggenheim is a Pacific Northwest Pest Alert Network contributing author, starts teaching clinics in mid-May. Interest in the clinics is strong. “This year, we’ve already had several hundred calls,” he said. The phone calls about clinic participation started around February, he said. Volunteer scouts with the pest network in the Treasure Valley of southwest Idaho and southeast Oregon — tvpestalert.net — also got off to an early start posting information and sending pho- tographs. Codling moths, fire blight, pear blister mites, peach leaf curl and peach tree borers have sparked red alerts on the network since late April. Predictive, less urgent yellow alerts appeared for lygus bugs in alfalfa seed and for sugar beet root maggots. pay for it” and not expect strug- gling family farmers to pay for it, he said. The organic industry is developing into two factions — corporate organic and fam- ily-scale organic. OTA rep- resents the corporate segment, and it misrepresented support for a checkoff as unified — which couldn’t be farther from the truth, he said. “A lot of us are sick and tired of OTA,” he said. Fortunately, USDA acted contrary to OTA’s false claims, he said. “It’s a relief to see USDA actually standing up for family farmers; it doesn’t happen that often,” he said. The Organic Farmers As- sociation said the proposed checkoff would have required all certified organic operations, even those exempted from the program, to submit annu- al gross sales reports, which would have been overly bur- densome. “The proposed program was divisive among the organ- ic community, and checkoff programs must have industry support to be instituted — this proposal did not,” OFA said in a statement. USDA said it based the ter- mination on a lack of consen- sus within the industry and divergent views on how to resolve issues in implementing the program. Simplot names Lofto as its new CEO Garrett Lofto will assume new role on Sept. 1 By GEORGE PLAVEN Capital Press A 26-year employee is poised to become the next president and CEO of the J.R. Simplot Co. in Boise. Garrett Lofto, who most recently has led the company’s agribusiness group since 2009, will take over the top job be- ginning Sept. 1. He replaces Bill Whitacre, who retired in April after 18 years with Sim- plot, including nine years as president and CEO. “I’m honored and humbled that the board and the Simplot family have entrusted me to lead this great organization as part of the senior leadership team,” Lofto said in a state- ment. “The company is filled with tremendous talent and leaders, and I’m committed to ensuring they have the sup- port they need to make the J.R. Simplot Company the best we can be.” As president of Simplot agribusiness, Lofto oversaw a $2.5 billion operating di- vision. During his tenure, the company charted signifi- cant growth in Garrett Lofto its retail arms, Simplot Grow- er Solutions and Simplot Part- ners, and opened a new state- of-the-art ammonia plant. Scott Simplot, chairman of the Simplot board of directors, praised Lofto for his vision and leadership. “We’re well-positioned for success across our organi- zation, and the Simplot fam- ily and board of directors are confident we’ve got the right leader to help us achieve great things,” Simplot said. Lofto was raised on a farm in southern Manitoba, Canada, and has lived in Idaho since 2001. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Manitoba and a master’s degree in business administration from the Uni- versity of Phoenix. Lofto joined Simplot in 1992 as a crop adviser for the Morris, Manitoba area. He also serves on the board of direc- tors for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Idaho, the Fertilizer Institute, Nutrients for Life Foundation and the International Plant Nutrition Institute. Whitacre, who steps down as president and CEO, played a key role in growing company revenues from ap- proximately $4.5 billion to $6 billion, according to the company. Scott Simplot de- scribed Whitacre as a “highly successful and visionary lead- er” who helped the company reach new heights and expand its global presence. “The company, the board and the extended Simplot fam- ily thank him for his leadership and commitment,” Simplot said. Founded in 1929, J.R. Sim- plot Co. now has 10,000 em- ployees around the world, with major operations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia and China. Products are market- ed in more than 40 countries worldwide. Lofto becomes the seventh president and CEO since com- pany founder Jack Simplot retired in 1973. The company has begun searching for candi- dates to fill Lofto’s position in the agribusiness division. 21-1/100
