Organic crops again were the lion’s share of all organic sales in 2019. At $5.8 billion, those crop sales were 58% of the $9.9 billion in all organic sales, according to USDA’s latest survey.

Organic crop sales were up 38% from 2016, said Virginia Harris, survey statistician with the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

“It will probably surprise no one to learn that, again, California was the top state for organic crop production,” she said during a webinar hosted by the Organic Trade Association.

With sales of almost $2.9 billion, California produced half of all U.S. organic crop sales in 2019. Washington and Oregon were also big producers with sales of $717 million and $323 million, respectively.

“As in past surveys, vegetables are the top organic crop group,” she said.

At more than $2 billion, sales of vegetables grown in the open increased 27% from 2016.

Fruits, berries and tree nuts were also at the $2 billion level but experienced a bigger increase in sales, up 44% from 2016.

“Field crops experienced the sharpest growth from 2016 to 2019. That sector increased by over 55%,” she said.

The only crop sector where sales did not increase by over 25% was nursery, floriculture and propagative materials. Growth there was basically flat with only a 2% increase in sales.

Apples were the top crop in 2019 at $475 million, followed by lettuce at $400 million and grapes and strawberries with more than $300 million each.

Most of the top crops experienced large increases in sales. Corn for grain increased 70% in sales, and cultivated blueberries were up over 100%, she said.

The only top crop with a small increase was potatoes, with their value up only 3%.

In the vegetable sector, lettuce and spinach topped the list with sales up over 40%. Other large changes in sales were for onions, up over 200%, and cauliflower, up over 100%.

Decreases in sales were seen for tomatoes, down 25%, and sweet potatoes, down 24%.

Fruits, nuts and berries ranked second to vegetables, only trailing by $60 million in sales. Growth was highest for berries, up 67%. Grape sales also increased by more than 50%.

“Only citrus sales fell compared to 2016 levels,” she said.

Apples were the leading crop in the category with sales of $475 million.

“In fact two organic apple varieties each had over $100 million in sales in 2019, Gala apples and Honey Crisp,” she said.

Blueberries and raspberries showed large increases in sales. Blueberry sales were up over 100%, and raspberry sales almost doubled.

Field crops are also a big component of organic crop sales, and overall sales in that sector grew by 55%, she said.

“Large increases were seen in the value of sales of corn for grain, which was up almost 70% to $278 million since 2016, and peanuts, which almost tripled in value ($38 million),” she said.

Alfalfa hay sales were $154 million, and wheat sales were $149 million.