Organic Food Giants To Merge

A new leader in the organic food industry is set to sprout, as two of the nation's leading organic certification agencies plan to merge according to a press release.

Oregon Tilth will join California Certified Organic Farmers to become the single-largest certification group. CCOF currently certifies more than 2,300 operations while Oregon Tilth works with more than 1,400 operations in 46 states and six countries.

Once the merge is approved before Oct. 31 of this year, the new CCOF Tilth, will work with more than 4,200 farmers, ranchers, retailors, and processors across America.

According to the Organic Trade Association's organic industry survey, since 1990 the sale of organic products has grown from a $1 billion a year business to nearly $31.5 billion in 2011. Growing at a rate of up to 21 percent each year, organic products are one of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture in the country.