Pennsylvania’s organic agriculture industry is the largest in the mid-Atlantic region and is growing far faster than the national average. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture engaged ESI to evaluate the economic and fiscal impact of this industry, assess its supply chain dynamics, and develop policy recommendations to support continued growth to provide the Commonwealth with an evidence-based analysis of the sector’s role in the state economy.
ESI conducted economic and fiscal impact analysis using IMPLAN input-output modeling to quantify the industry’s contributions to employment, output, and the state economy. The team also performed supply chain, gap, and SWOT analyses to assess structural strengths, constraints, and growth opportunities. Historical trends from 2011 through 2021 were analyzed to benchmark Pennsylvania’s trajectory relative to national patterns. ESI’s analysis also incorporated an equity lens, examining racial disparities in farm ownership and access to organic certification as barriers to inclusive growth, and addressed climate change mitigation, equitable economic development, and agricultural innovation as factors shaping the industry’s future.
The study found that the more than 1,200 certified organic farms in Pennsylvania generated more than $1 billion in organic sales in 2021, supporting 7,100 jobs and $2.2 billion in total economic impact. The number of organic farms grew by 167 percent from 2011 to 2021, exceeding the national rate of 105 percent, while total organic product sales grew 789 percent versus 217 percent nationally. Policy recommendations in the study addressed consumer education, minority farmer outreach, expansion of Community Supported Agriculture programs, inclusion of Plain Sect farmers, and expansion of organic education at state colleges and universities.