On February 10, the first of a four-part series of organic production workshops was held at the Oconee County Civic Center. Dr. Deidre Birmingham introduced this workshop with a definition of organic production. Dr. Lohr's presentation began with several statistics about who buys organic, how much is produced nationally, and where it is marketed. A surprisingly diverse group of people are buying organic produce. Twenty-five percent of consumers in all income classes buy organic produce.
Organic production is the fastest growing segment of fresh produce.
Organic produce is sold through several outlets, with the vast majority sold to consumers through traditional supermarkets. Paul Dutter, who handles farm certification for Georgia Organics, Inc., gave a presentation on the requirements and process for certification. Keep records on previous history of the property, crop rotation, soil fertility management and market into which the produce is sold. This last item is a concern to many who do not want to share this information. A short field trip was arranged to Andrew Stocklinski's farm.