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For decades, the discussion around organic farming has centered on important tenets of sustainability, environmental health, animal welfare, and a vision for food that heals rather than harms. But in Americas fields today, a different conversation is taking root and is grounded in profits. With new economic data and over 40 years of side-by-side comparisons between organic and conventional systems, we can now confidently say that organic is no longer just a values-driven choice; its the most profitable model available to U.S. farmers. At Rodale Institute, the latest Economics of Organic report examines farm-level data across crops, regions, and production systems. The findings show diversified, certified organic farms consistently outperform conventional operations on net income, even when organic yields are modestly lower. In a sector squeezed by volatile input prices and climate risk, organic offers what farmers rarely get: predictable premiums and stronger long-term margins. How is this possible? Organic corn, wheat, and soybeans earn price premiums ranging from roughly 145% to 250% over conventional counterparts, according to FINBIN data gathered between 2016 and 2020. Even after accounting for higher labor and management costs, organic producers net significantly more income per bushel. In many cases, conventional production results in a net economic loss, while organic systems remain profitable. ROOTED IN RESEARCH This is grounded in more than 40 years of side-by-side research from Rodale Institutes Farming Systems Trial, the longest-running comparison of organic and conventional agriculture in North America. Over time, organic systems yield results comparable to those of traditional systems for crops like corn and wheat, while reducing exposure to increasingly volatile fertilizer and chemical input costs. That cost stability matters when synthetic inputs swing dramatically in price, as they have in recent years. The market now exceeds $70 billion annually in U.S. organic food sales and continues to grow faster than the overall food market, bolstering the business case for organic practices. Organic production generates nearly 3% of total U.S. farm revenue on just 1% of all farmland. More than half of organic food is sold through mainstream retailers like Walmart and Target, providing clear evidence that organic is no longer a niche category, but a core segment of the modern food economy. In my new book, The Farm is Here, I explore what is driving this surge. A key aspect of this growth is the exploding demand for products with trusted certifications. In the past year, sales of Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) products rose 22%, according to SPINS CEO Jay Margolis, and other sustainability certifications are outpacing the rest of the market. For todays shoppers, certifications are symbols of trust that guide decisions in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Consumer demand is only part of the story. Capital is following returns. Impact investors, farmland real estate investment trusts, specialty lenders, and conservation finance groups have deployed hundreds of millions of dollars into organic and regenerative operations. These investors arent solely driven by ideology; but theyre responding to a business model that delivers durable margins, diversified revenue streams, and growing demand. Together, these numbers point to a simple conclusion: organic has crossed the threshold from specialty category to economically material market. THE NEXT GENERATION OF FARMERS Equally important is who is choosing to farm this way. USDA census data shows a 7% increase in farmers under 45, many of whom are rejecting the subsidy-dependent industrial model in favor of smaller, diversified, organic operations. An analysis of the USDA census data shows that 2,000 U.S. farms are currently transitioning to organic. For the next generation, organic is not a lifestyle choice, but a strategy for avoiding high-input debt, reducing exposure to price volatility, and building viable operations at smaller scales. That doesnt mean the transition is effortless. The three-year certification period, when farmers adopt organic practices before earning full price premiums, can strain cash flow. But risk-mitigation tools are expanding. USDA cost-share programs, conservation incentives, organic-specific crop insurance, and emerging transitional labels are reducing financial exposure. When these tools are aligned, the economic risk of transition drops significantly. The broader takeaway is that organic agriculture offers a viable economic pathway for rebuilding resilience in American farming. It reduces dependence on volatile inputs, aligns production with consumer demand, and opens the door for new farmers without locking them into unsustainable debt structures. At a moment when policymakers are searching for ways to strengthen rural economies, investors are looking for climate-resilient assets, and consumers are voting with their dollars, organic agriculture sits at the intersection of profitability and purpose. The question is no longer whether organic farming can scale economically. The data shows it already has. The real question is whether we will invest, finance, and design agricultural systems that will allow more farmers to succeed. Jeff Tkach is CEO of Rodale Institute.
Category:
E-Commerce
U.S. consumer confidence declined sharply in January, hitting the lowest level since 2014 as Americans grow increasingly concerned about their financial prospects. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index cratered 9.7 points to 84.5 in January, falling below even the lowest readings during the COVID-19 pandemic. A measure of Americans short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market tumbled 9.5 points to 65.1, well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead. Its the 12th consecutive month that reading has come in under 80. Consumers assessments of their current economic situation slid by 9.9 points to 113.7. Confidence collapsed in January, as consumer concerns about both the present situation and expectations for the future deepened, said Dana Peterson, the Conference Boards chief economist. All five components of the index deteriorated, driving the overall index to its lowest level since May 2014 surpassing its COVID19 pandemic depths. Respondents references to inflation, including gas and grocery prices, remained elevated. Mentions of tariffs and trade, politics, and the labor market also rose in January as did comments about health insurance and war. Perceptions of the job market also declined this month. The conference boards survey reported that 23.9% of consumers said jobs were plentiful, down from 27.5% in December. Also, 20.8% of consumers said jobs were hard to get, up from 19.1% the month previous. The countrys labor market has been stuck in a low hire, low fire state, economists say, as businesses stand pat due to uncertainty over Trumps tariffs and the lingering effects of elevated interest rates. Earlier this month, the government reported that employers added just 50,000 jobs in December, nearly unchanged from 56,000 in November. The unemployment rate is 4.4%. Job gains have been subdued all year, particularly after Aprils liberation day tariff announcement by Trump. The economy gained just 584,000 jobs in 2025, sharply lower than that more than 2 million added in 2024. The dramatic drop on confidence is a direct result of the hiring recession, said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. The fact that 2025 was the weakest year for job gains outside of a recession since 2003 is not going over well with the middle class. This is a warning sign to policymakers that they need to focus on affordability and reviving hiring in 2026, Long added. The softening job market comes even as the U.S. economy keeps growing, often beyond projections. Powered by strong consumer spending, the U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in two years from July through September, according to the governments latest estimate. Matt Ott, AP business writer
Category:
E-Commerce
Amazon will double down on the Whole Foods brand, killing two of its own physical retail experiments in the process. The online retail giant said Tuesday that it will close all of its Amazon Go convenience stores and Amazon Fresh brick-and-mortar grocery stores. In total, around 70 locations across the two sub-brands will close starting at the beginning of February, with some to later reopen under the Whole Foods brand. Amazon Fresh stores served as a physical counterpart to Amazons online grocery delivery service by the same name while Amazon Go stores offered convenience store staples with a high-tech checkout twist. After a careful evaluation of the business and how we can best serve customers, weve made the difficult decision to close our Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores, converting various locations into Whole Foods Market stores, Amazon wrote in a blog update, adding that it gathered valuable insights during their operation. The Amazon brand might take a back seat in its brick-and-mortar strategy, but the retail giants IRL ambitions remain. Amazon also announced plans to open more than 100 new Whole Foods stores over the next few years. When the latest Go and Fresh store closures are wrapped up, Amazons network of Whole Foods stores will serve as the companys only physical retail footprint at least for now. With the closures, Amazon is backing off of its long experiment with Fresh and Go physical retail stores, which tested emerging retail technology and pushed its brand into new shopping categories. Amazon Go was known for allowing shoppers to pick up what they wanted and Just Walk Out instead of individually scanning items in a traditional checkout counter. That system, which relied on sensors and overhead cameras to track what shoppers purchased and linking it to their accounts digitally. While Amazon once held an ambitious roadmap for a vast network of physical stores centered around its Just Walk Out technology, the company has scaled back consistently in recent years. In 2018, Amazon was reportedly planning to open up to 3,000 cashierless stores running the technology over the next three years. By early 2026, Amazon Go was down to just 14 stores. The high cost of outfitting stores with a sophisticated array of sensors eventually dimmed those ambitions, with the company backtracking to a system that lets customers scan items to smart carts as they shop. Amazon now licenses the Just Walk Out technology out to third parties, including a number of merch, food and beverage locations in Lumen Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks. Amazon is still tinkering around with ways to bring its digital storefront into the physical shopping realm. Even as it rolls back some smaller-scale retail plans, Amazon clearly still wants to take a bite out of the everyday shopping and grocery success that brands like Walmart and Costco enjoy. As soon as next year, Amazon plans to open its first massive, big box-style store stocked with home goods, groceries and prepared food in the Chicago area. Its purpose-built for what we see retail customers demand today, an Amazon lawyer told local officials, who went on to greenlight the project last week.
Category:
E-Commerce
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