Organics Do Well in Produce, but Struggle in Meat, Bread Aisles
Washington — Organic foods are seizing shelf space in the fresh-foods sections of grocers but struggling to break into the bread and meat aisles. Organic-product sales farmers made to businesses including Dean Foods and Wal-Mart Stores totaled $5.5 billion in 2014, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture survey of organic growers. The total is 72 percent higher than the last time a similar survey was conducted in 2008. Sales so...
Organic Farming More Profitable, Analysis Finds
Minneapolis — Organic farming is more profitable than conventional farming, according to a new report that analyzes dozens of studies. The analysis, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the premium organic farmers can charge for their products makes their operations financially sustainable. “We found that, in spite of lower yields, organic agriculture was significantly more profitable than...
Study: Organic Can Make Money With Right Price
Seattle — Researchers have long studied the sustainability and health benefits of organically grown food versus conventional agriculture. Now a study by two Washington State University professors shows organic agriculture can be much more profitable than conventional — as long as price premiums on the crops are high enough. The research of David Crowder and John Reganold was released last week in Proceedings of the National Academy of...
Hormel agrees to buy organic and natural meat maker Applegate Farms
Hormel to Buy Organic and Natural Meat Maker Applegate Farms Minneapolis — Hormel Foods has agreed to buy Applegate Farms, a leading organic and natural meat maker, for $775 million, its largest acquisition and a big play in the hot organic food market. The buyout of Bridgefield, N.J.-based Applegate is also the latest of three major deals for Hormel over the past two years, as the packaged food company, based about 100 miles south of...
Consumer Confidential: Is Organic Food Worth the Higher Price? Many Experts Say No
Kristin DiMarco was heading into a Trader Joe’s in West Los Angeles the other day and knew for sure what she wouldn’t be buying: anything organic. “I just feel like I’ve already built up an immunity to anything that might be in my food,” the 26-year-old told me. Besides, she said, why would she want to pay a markup that can run double or triple the cost of conventional food? “I don’t think there’s a big-enough difference in quality to...
