Re: Appraising Certified Organic Land

OFRF (research@ofrf.org)
Wed, 18 Sep 1996 11:30:05 -0700 (PDT)

Organic certification (in most states) means that a trail of documentation
and verification exists, which indicates that the land in question has not
been treated with materials which are prohibited for organic production, for
at least threee years. If the certification is reliable (still an open
question in some places), then the property would definitely be more
valuable to someone who wished to practice organic farming for commercial
production (and perhaps others). In California, this is a well-recognized
phenomenon. How much of an increase in value or saleability is highly
variable, but it is a material consideration for some agricultural
land-shoppers.

Mark Lipson

Organic Farming Research Foundation
(408) 426-6606 (R. Scowcroft, E. Walz);
(408) 426-4006 (M. Lipson);
FAX: 426-6670