Respondents' highest research priorities spanned a wide range of topics with the relationship of growing practices to crop quality and nutrition taking the lead. Crop rotations for fertility and pest management and consumer demand for organics ranked second and third. In many of the commodities the percentage of unsold crops seems high. A closer look showed that much of the unsold organic products are used on-farm while a smaller percentage are donated to charity. While organic growers have clearly responded to the increase in consumer demand, concern about their ability to market specific products and make a profit is reflected in the growers' placement of consumer demand for organic products and direct-marketing opportunities and tools for organic marketing in the top third of their research priorities.
Diversification remains a key objective of the nation's certified organic farmers.
When asked which one commodity is the most economically important to their farm, farmers in 23 states said vegetables followed by growers in 17 states who listed soybeans. Twelve other commodities were identified as the grower's primary cash crop. Managing Farm Inputs Organic farmers work to develop a whole-systems approach to managing their operations which includes generating as many inputs on the farm as is possible. An equal percentage of growers generated their pest management tools on the farm as acquired them from off-farm sources. On-farm Water Quality and Usage The Organic Foods Production Act and a number of state organic verification agencies make references to the quality of water on an organic farm.