Production of organic apples has increased dramatically in the United States over the last decade, according to the U.S. Apple Association. While total apple acreage has declined almost 20 percent since the late 1990s, organic acreage has increased by more than 44 percent to a total of 12,515 acres, U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics show.

In 2005, just over 3 percent of the total U.S. apple acreage was organic, but in Arizona, almost all of the state’s 1,040 acres of apples were certified organic. In Colorado and California, 13 percent of the acreage was organic. While only about 4 percent of Washington’s acreage was organic, it was the largest organic apple-producing state with almost 6,700 organic acres.

The USDA figures show a decline in certified organic acreage in Washington between 2003 and 2005, but an increase in New York from virtually nothing in 2003 to 225 acres in 2005.

U.S. organic apple acreage in 2005
Washington 6,681
California 3,402
Arizona 1,000
Michigan 545
New York 225
Colorado 202
Maine 136
Wisconsin 124
Oregon 123
Minnesota 22
Pennsylvania 16
Massachusetts 11
Ohio 7
North Carolina 6
Indiana 5
Iowa 5
Maryland 4
Connecticut 1