The most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture has detailed information on organic vegetables grown under protection. This category includes greenhouses, but for this group, it is primarily high tunnels, hoop houses, and related low technology plastic structures.
The total crop area “under protection” is 460 acres. The value of sales was $76.15 million, with an average gross return of $165,538 per acre for the 1,496 farms reporting.
RELATED: SARE grant expands UNH's high tunnel tomato research
Funding for all or part of high tunnel construction has been provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in most states for the past several years.
A detailed listing, by state, for number of farms, area under protection and value of sales is available at no charge from Cuesta Roble Consulting.
Photo: Dreamstime.com
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