Category: Uncategorized

Organic Isn’t Just a Production System—It’s a Promise!

From Farm to Consumer: Why Organic Markets Need Transparency and Storytelling to Grow

In our recent “Texas Organic News” newsletter, I conducted a single question survey and the question was: “What’s standing in the way of producing and/or selling more organic products?”
Here are the results from the 1,360 newsletters sent out – only 32 responses! In this survey you could only pick one answer for the question and here are the results so far.

  • Lack of grower contracts or reliable customers for organic products — 13 responses (40.6%) This is a question about demand for organic production or products, which ever segment you are involved in. If we don’t get customers, we don’t get paid!
  • Paperwork and certification take too much time or effort — 8 responses (25%) Of course everyone in organic says this is a problem but it ranks second behind selling more organic products.
  • Competition from imported organic products that reduce grower contracts or retailer profitability — 5 responses (15.6%) I thought this might be more of an issue and it is for some commodities but right now it ranks third.
  • Not enough profit margin in organic production or sales — 2 responses (6.3%)
  • Growers: Not enough organic inputs or supplies to grow efficiently — 3 responses (9.4%)
  • Handlers: Not enough consistent organic product available to sell — 1 response (3.1%)

Although overall response numbers have been low, I think the pattern is clear: the two largest barriers identified by producers are market access (customers/contracts) and certification/time-burden. These aren’t simply agronomic issues—they point to deeper economic and institutional challenges in our organic systems. We need to do a better job attracting customers and we need to improve certification systems to make them easier and cheaper.

Transaction Costs and What the Survey is Telling Us

When I review your responses through the lens of transaction cost economics, I see how these barriers are really about the extra costs of doing business in organic—not just the cost of production. A cost is anything that takes up time or money both of which are scarce. Scarce means if you do this one thing you can’t be doing another thing. If you have to spend a lot (time and/or money) on certification or finding customers/contracts, you have to get it back from the products or you have to quit!

  • The largest barrier, lack of reliable customers, highlights search, matching, and information-costs. If you don’t know who will buy your product or what contract terms look like, you carry higher risk and uncertainty. Organic struggles with this every day of every month of every year!
  • The second barrier, certification and paperwork burden, is about compliance, monitoring and institutional costs. The farm work, the record-keeping, the audit visits—even before you sell—these costs eat into margins. USDA NOP has discussed some of this and even talked about some streamlining and simplifying proposals, but we are still a long way from it.
  • Lastly, weak contracts or imports or even hard to find markets point to market thinness and pricing transparency. When markets aren’t transparent, when contracts are hidden or inconsistent, the organic market players struggle to negotiate fairly or spend too much time struggling to be in the market.

In short: to expand organic production and meaningful sales in Texas, the US or the world, we must look beyond just “how do I grow it organically?” and ask:
How do I connect reliably with a buyer, how do I keep my certification cost manageable, and how does the market signal value all the way through the chain?

Organic as a Credence Good

Here’s a key idea: organic products are credence goods (belief or acceptance that something is true or valid). That means consumers (a shopper in HEB) cannot easily verify for themselves many of the important attributes—crop rotation, chemical input avoidance, processing protocols, supply-chain segregation. Instead, they rely on trust signals: certifications, labels, audits, inspections.

Because

of this,

two things

matter:

  1. Integrity of production and supply chain systems — the farm-to-shelf process must be robust and verifiable. Organic has built this into its system with legal force while most or all others do not come close. Non-GMO is a label that is highly trusted too, but they have experienced problems recently with this part of their label. Lost trust is almost impossible to get back.
  2. Clear communication of value to the consumer — if consumers don’t understand the organic claim or don’t believe it has value, the premium disappears. Right now there are many, many stories about how “something” is better than organic. This tells me organic has set the standard all are trying to beat but this bombardment without a response also weakens organic’s message.

The newsletter survey results align exactly with this: producers are facing market access problems (demand side) and compliance burdens (supply side). Both sides are inherent to credence-good systems. You’re not just farming or manufacturing differently—you’re participating in a system of trust. Right now, organic agriculture has the highest rated system of trust according to survey after survey. Unfortunately, our customers are not valuing that “trust” as much as they used to do simply because they are being bombarded with so many choices that look similar but are not at all similar to Certified Organic! Step up and reinforce that message now, before we lose it!

Every Part of the Value Chain Must Be a Promoter

In a business built on trust (credence goods), production alone isn’t enough. The value behind the organic label depends on every actor in the chain actively understanding and communicating that value.

  • Farmers need to ask: What story am I giving my buyer about how I grew this crop and why it matters? Have you ever given your buyer a letter with your crop that tells your story? You send a certificate but why not more?
  • Handlers must ask: How am I representing the farms I source from, and how am I passing that value and the value I add to retailers or final buyers?
  • Retailers and brands should ask: Am I explaining to consumers why this product commands a premium, beyond just placing it on the shelf? FYI – Retailers usually make more off organic products than conventional!
  • Certifiers and institutions must ensure: I maintain the trust-signal, yes—but do I also support the chain in telling the story in a credible, consistent way? Is your certifier making sure “you,” their customer is promoted?

If any link fails to actively promote the value, the trust signal weakens. Here’s what it means in practice:

  • Transparency up and down the chain: Farms must provide clear information to handlers; handlers must pass that to retailers; retailers must convey the value to consumers—and that consumer feedback should circle back into production and market planning. You may be paid for a product in organic, but your “name” goes with that product all the way to the consumer!
  • Active marketing of integrity: The organic label is a trust-signal. If it isn’t actively promoted, consumers may forget what it stands for or assume it doesn’t matter. This is especially true in an age of so much label confusion.
  • Shared responsibility: It’s not enough for a farmer to get certified and think the rest of the chain will carry the message. Every actor must see themselves as part-of the collective promoter of the label’s meaning and the products value.
  • Feedback loops: The final customer’s expectations shape what comes back up the chain. Growers should listen to what consumers care about, and that should influence how they position their production and communicate with buyers.
  • Value-chain transparency equals value creation: The more visible the chain, the more confident the consumer, the stronger the premium, the more stable the market. Hidden trade, opaque pricing, and weak storytelling all erode trust and hinder growth.

Final Thought

The very simple and easy survey I sent in a newsletter has highlighted what many of us already sense: participating in organic isn’t simply about adopting different growing practices. It’s about being part of a system built on trust, communication, and shared value. Certification and production matter—but they are only half the story. The lack of participation (only 30 out of 1360) in this simple, one question survey is telling me that certified organic entities (farms, handlers, retailers, certifiers) have not figured out everyone has a part to play in this “credence good” or it becomes just another “good” to purchase.

If you choose to farm organic, you’re not just choosing a way to grow.
You’re choosing to be part of a movement built on trust, and you’re signing up to help tell the story. You are paying a lot to be part of this movement.

When we, as farmers, handlers, retailers—and even consumers—understand this and act on it, we reduce hidden costs, build stronger markets, and make organic not just viable, but sustainable and profitable.

Lots of Summer Tours with Organic Topics!

There have been a lot of opportunities this summer for Organic Farmers to attend tours held outside, in the field, that featured organic agriculture.  I hope that you as an organic farmer took the time to attend, learn, and show your support.  I hope that organic farmers realize that Extension education works much like a business! If farmers do not show up (make a purchase) then there will be an assumption that they do not need Extension organic education. If they do not need organic education, then the “educators” might be forced to do something else – just saying! Check out the pictures and information and then plan to be a part the next time you get the invitation!

The picture above is at the Hi-A Corn Field Day held July 31 in and around Halfway just west of Plainview.  There was a good crowd of farmers, seed producers and businesses interested in new corn hybrids.

The pictures below are of the Organic Cotton and Peanut Field Day held on August 19 just north of Seminole in Neil Froese’s fields.  We toured peanuts, cotton and had a robot demonstration and a great talk by Aigen about their new robot weeders.

Dr. John Cason has his back to us in the picture as he talks to the crowd about the organic peanut variety trial. It was great weather that day with a little over 2 inches of rain the day before.

The picture above is some discussion about the organic cotton fields surrounding the crowd. The fields were clean of weeds, and we discussed the implements and timing to keep them clean.

Below the picture is showing a potential crop robot developed by Texas A&M researchers using common components found in most electronic stores. The technology is sophisticated but the design and parts are pretty simple. Imagine building robots in your shop that could run continuously weeding your fields!

The pictures below are from the Resilient Cropping Systems Tour held on September 24 that started at the Quarterway Cotton Growers but toured from there to the Helms Farm south of Halfway.  This tour featured so many speakers and demonstrations that I can’t name them all but organic was discussed on many of the tour stops. I want to also mention that Megan Singletary is doing some great work in organic weed control and results should be something we can use to improve our fields.

Let me add one more tour that I wish I had more pictures to show you the crowd and facilities. I am a terrible photographer and wish I would do better! The Southwest Dairy Day had over 300 attending and Organic Dairy was front and center.

This is just one of many seminars given at the Southwest Dairy Day held on October 9. The day featured lots of exhibits in outdoor tents, lots of equipment demonstrations, and a tour of the Aurora Organic “Pepper” Dairy just outside of Dublin Texas. The Pepper Organic Dairy features the latest in robot milkers for batch milking. A completely automated system we were able to tour from above the entire operation from the balcony at the milking parlor – it was a site to see!

Texas Organic Agriculture: Expanding from Farm to Market

The Texas organic industry continues to grow on both ends of the supply chain—from the farms that grow organic crops and livestock to the companies that process, package, and distribute them. As of October 2025, the state lists 412 certified organic grower operations, including farms that produce crops, livestock, and wild crops on 512,000 Texas acres. At the same time, the number of certified organic handlers—processors, distributors, and packers—has climbed from 457 in 2023 to 694 in 2025, a 52% increase in just two years.

Who’s Growing Organically in Texas

Organic production in Texas is anchored by key field crops such as cotton (175 farms), peanuts (147), and wheat (132)—mainstays of the High Plains and Rolling Plains, where organic systems are well adapted to semi-arid soils and rotations. Corn (51) and sorghum or milo (49) are part of diversified feed and grain operations, while rice (25) remains strong along the Gulf Coast. Forage crops like alfalfa (25) and grass (40) support both organic livestock and soil health, while vegetable operations (21) range from small local farms near urban markets to large commercial producers serving regional buyers.

Among these 412 operations, 28 are certified for livestock, including 20 cattle and 8 poultry operations. The cattle operations include both grass-fed beef and organic dairy systems, emphasizing rotational grazing and homegrown forage to meet organic standards. The poultry farms focus mainly on pasture-based egg and broiler production, serving local and specialty markets. Together, these farms show how organic agriculture in Texas is evolving into an integrated system linking crops, forages, and livestock within the same ecological and market framework.

A Rapid Rise in Certified Handlers

The sharp increase in certified organic handlers—from 457 to 694—signals strong momentum beyond the farm gate. Much of this growth is tied to the USDA’s Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) rule, implemented in 2023. This rule requires certification for more middle-market entities such as brokers, traders, and distributors who take ownership of organic products. The result is a more transparent and traceable supply chain, but also a measurable expansion in the number of certified businesses operating within it.

Texas’s 694 organic handlers now represent a wide range of activities. The largest sectors include fruits and vegetables (285), beverages (125), grains, flours, and cereals (105), nuts and seeds (111), seasonings and flavorings (102), and oils and oleoresins (71). These categories show that Texas’s organic sector is growing not only in raw production but in value-added processing, product manufacturing, and consumer-ready goods. Additional activity in livestock feed (23), dairy and dairy alternatives (27), meat, poultry, and eggs (35), processed foods (47), and fiber, textiles, and cotton (20) rounds out the picture of a maturing organic industry.

A Strengthening Organic Ecosystem

The combined growth in organic growers and handlers marks a new phase for Texas organic agriculture. Producers are supplying more raw organic commodities, and a growing network of handlers is processing, packaging, and marketing those products—creating a more complete and resilient organic system. The enforcement of SOE has helped formalize this network, ensuring that products remain traceable from farm to table. What was once a scattered mix of farms and processors is now forming into a connected supply chain—one capable of supporting long-term growth in the Texas organic market.

Smart Sensing in Organic Systems: How Drones, Satellites, and Sensors Help Detect Crop Stress Before It Happens

Smart sensing is transforming how we understand plant health in organic systems. By integrating satellite and drone imagery, in-field sensors, and artificial intelligence, we can now detect stress in crops long before symptoms appear. This technology doesn’t replace the farmer’s eye—it strengthens it, helping us protect soil biology, use resources more wisely, and make better management decisions.

Learning from Students and Staying Curious

This past Saturday (October 18), a group of high school students invited me to speak about their project on smart plant monitoring. They were designing a device to track plant health in real time. Their questions—about soil, light, and water—were sharp and curious. It reminded me why I love this field: whether we’re students or seasoned farmers, we’re all learning how to listen to plants a little better.

Their project also made me reflect on how far we’ve come. When I started in Extension, plant monitoring meant walking fields, taking notes, and maybe digging a soil sample. Now, we’re using satellites orbiting hundreds of miles above the earth and sensors no bigger than a pencil eraser to understand how crops respond to their environment.

From Satellites to Soil: The New Eyes of Agriculture

In organic production, timing is everything. A crop under stress can lose days of growth before we even notice it. But RGB drone and satellite imaging now allow us to spot stress early by detecting subtle changes in leaf color, canopy density, or reflectance.

Even more advanced are multispectral and hyperspectral sensors, which measure how plants reflect light across visible and infrared wavelengths. These patterns can reveal water stress, nitrogen deficiency, or disease pressure—well before a plant wilts or yellows.1

Thermal cameras add another layer. Drought-stressed plants reduce transpiration, causing leaf temperature to rise—a change that infrared sensors can detect long before visible damage occurs.2

Once the imagery is captured, we still rely on ground-truthing—walking to the coordinates, checking the crop, soil, and often pulling tissue samples. This blend of technology and touch keeps data meaningful.

Predictive Systems: Seeing Stress Before It Starts

The most exciting progress in recent years has been predictive capability. AI-powered analytics now integrate drone imagery, IoT soil data, and weather patterns to learn what “normal” looks like for a crop. When the system detects deviations—like a drop in chlorophyll fluorescence or a rise in leaf temperature—it flags them early.3

One powerful method is solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), which measures photosynthetic efficiency. Subtle declines in fluorescence intensity can indicate stress from drought, salinity, or nutrient imbalance days before the plant shows visible symptoms.4

Meanwhile, IoT sensor networks are spreading across fields. These small devices monitor soil moisture, pH, canopy temperature, and even sap flow, sending real-time data to cloud dashboards that can automatically adjust irrigation schedules.5

This isn’t just smart—it’s proactive agriculture.

Image acquisition setups using different sensors (i) DJI Matrice 600 Pro with a Sony Alpha 7R II, 42.4-megapixel RGB camera mounted on it(Sapkota, 2021), (ii) A close-range laboratory imaging system with a Micro-Hyperspec VNIR sensor in controlled lighting condition (Dao et al., 2021a), (iii) HyperCam on the tripod, Fluke TiR1, Lci leaf porometer, Infragold as well as dry and wet references targets (Gerhards et al., 2016) (iv) Chamber equipped with two Raspberry Pi 3B + and an ArduCam Noir Camera with a motorized IR-CUT filter and two infrared LEDs (Sakeef et al., 2023).6

Why This Matters for Organic Systems

Organic farming depends on living systems—soil microbes, organic matter, and ecological balance. Unlike conventional systems, we can’t rely on quick chemical fixes. We need to detect stress early enough to respond biologically—through irrigation management, microbial inoculants, or balanced foliar nutrition.

Smart sensing tools help us manage that complexity. When we combine spectral imagery, soil data, and climate information, we begin to see the farm as an interconnected ecosystem rather than a collection of separate fields.

Monitoring also supports stewardship. Water-quality sensors can now detect salinity and bicarbonate buildup that harm roots over time. Linking those readings with AI-derived stress maps helps producers align soil chemistry, water quality, and plant physiology in one continuous feedback system.7

The Human Element Still Matters

Even with all this technology, the farmer’s experience is irreplaceable. Data can tell us something changed, but it takes experience to know why. Was that NDVI dip caused by poor drainage, pests, or a timing issue in irrigation?

Technology should not distance us from the field—it should bring better insight to our decisions. As I often tell growers, just as computers need rebooting, we occasionally need to “reboot” our interpretation—to align the data with what we know from hands-on experience.

A Partnership Between Grower, Plant, and Sensor

When those students asked how technology fits into farming, I told them this: smart monitoring doesn’t make agriculture less human—it makes it more informed.

The future of organic production is a partnership between the grower, the plant, and the sensor. When all three communicate clearly, we grow more than crops—we grow understanding. And in that understanding lies the future of any sustainable agriculture.

Further Reading

References

  1. Dutta, D. et al. (2025). “Hyperspectral Imaging in Agriculture: A Review of Advances and Applications.” Precision Agriculture, 26(3): 445–463. ↩︎
  2. Cendrero-Mateo, M.P. et al. (2025). “Thermal and Spectral Signatures of Plant Stress.” Frontiers in Plant Science, 16:31928. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1631928 ↩︎
  3. Chlingaryan, A. et al. (2025). “Machine Learning for Predictive Stress Detection in Crops.” Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 218:107546. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168169924011256 ↩︎
  4. Guanter, L. et al. (2024). “Solar-Induced Fluorescence for Assessing Vegetation Photosynthesis.” NASA Earthdata Training Series. https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/trainings/solar-induced-fluorescence-sif-observations-assessing-vegetation-changes-related ↩︎
  5. Ahmad, L. & Nabi, F. (2024). Agriculture 5.0: Integrating AI, IoT, and Machine Learning in Precision Farming. CRC Press. ↩︎
  6. Chlingaryan, A. et al. (2025). “Machine Learning for Predictive Stress Detection in Crops.” Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 218:107546. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168169924011256 ↩︎
  7. Gómez-Candón, D. et al. (2025). “Integrating Water Quality Sensors and Remote Sensing for Sustainable Irrigation.” Agricultural Water Management, 298:108072. ↩︎

New Organic Guar from Texas A&M AgriLife

by Dr. Waltram Ravelombola1

Texas A&M AgriLife recently released one of the first organic guar varieties in the country: ‘TAMG 101’ and ‘TAMG 102‘.2 Even though guar might not be a popular legume, many of us have used guar products in various forms. Guar is a drought- and heat-tolerant legume. In the U.S., it is grown in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Arizona.

Guar seeds have galactomannan, known as guar gum, which has multiple uses. It is used as ingredient in various food applications such as ice cream, dairy products, cheese, salad dressing, etc. The increasing demand in organic products using guar gum as food ingredients has significantly increased nationally. This requires the availability of organic guar in the market, necessitating the need for guar varieties adapted to organic production systems.

Therefore, these new organic guar varieties will be vital to provide domestically produced organic guar gum for the food industry. Guar can also fix atmospheric nitrogen, which is important in enhancing soil fertility in organic farming production.

Figure 1. Plants and seeds of organic ‘TAMG 101’ (Ravelombola et al. 2025)

Figure 2. Plant and seeds of organic ‘TAMG 102’ (Ravelombola et al. 2025)

  1. Waltram Ravelombola, Assistant Professor, Organic & Specialty Crop Breeding, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, 11708 Hwy 70 S, Vernon, TX.
    Email: waltram.ravelombola@ag.tamu.edu Phone: 940-647-3911
    Ph.D. Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences, University of Arkansas, 2020
    M.S. Statistics and Analytics, University of Arkansas, 2020
    M.S. Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Arkansas, 2017
    M.S. Agricultural Engineering, University of Antananarivo, 2014
    Professional Summary
    Specialty: Organic and Specialty Crop Breeding
    Research: My research focuses on developing specialty crop and row crop cultivars that are suitable to the organic cropping systems in Texas and beyond. The breeding program focuses on developing cultivars with acceptable yields, high nutritional values, good agronomic performance, and better tolerance to abiotic stresses such as heat, drought, and salinity, and biotic stresses such as pests and diseases. Our approach integrates conventional and modern tools in plant breeding. Research also focuses on understanding the genetic basis of abiotic and biotic stresses in specialty crops (guar, cowpea, lentils…). Research topics also include genomic selection and high-throughput phenotyping.
    Support Staff and Students: Aurora Manley, Philip Hinson, Caroline Ruhl ↩︎
  2. Ravelombola, W., Manley, A., & Stephens, S. (2025). ‘TAMG 101’ and ‘TAMG 102’: New Organic Guar for the Southern United States. HortScience, 60(11), 1957–1958. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI18007-24 ↩︎

2025 Sorghum Variety Testing

In case you didn’t know I want to emphasize that Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension have an extensive variety testing program for corn, cotton, sorghum, peanuts, wheat, sunflower, soybean, silage, forages, rice, oilseeds, and more than I can count!

The trials are conducted in farmer fields and on Texas A&M AgriLife Research Stations across the state with companies that want to see how their varieties perform in multiple locations. Here is a YouTube video showing the process.

Recently Katrina Horn with Variety Testing sent out the pdf files for 8 tests conducted from the Rio Grande Valley up to Central Texas including San Angelo. There are still three test sites to be harvested located in the South Plains and Panhandle, but still, we are getting great information to be able to think about next year’s planting season. Why is this important now for organic sorghum growers?

Many, many sorghum seed companies will set aside sorghum seed for organic growers that is not seed treated. Unfortunately, they will treat the rest of their seed inventory making it unavailable to organic growers because it is treated seed. I wish it was easier but at least we can get seed, in most cases, if we are just a little bit pushy with a seed dealer!

Since we still have some more test sites to add I probably should wait a month or two, but I think it is better to be thinking about sorghum now. Here is all the 8 tests we have results for as of now. Just click the button below.

2025 Sorghum Variety Test Results

Photo: Sorghum Partners R&D (https://sorghumpartners.com/rd/)

Okay, you have all the results which is a huge amount of information for each test site and for the varieties. Please take a look at all the information, you will be surprised. Now let me give you some summary information that might help you focus your thoughts.

CompanyVarietyTest Ranking (in the significant top)
DeKalbDKS 44-071,1,3,4
DeKalbDKS 36-071,2,2
Dyna-GroM62GB361,4,5,6
DeKalbDKS 43-764,6,9
Integra (Wilbur Ellis)G3665 2,3,4,8 (only planted in 6 tests!)
Sorghum PartnersSP65M601,2
DeKalbDKS 49-762,3,4
DeKalbDKS 43-764,6,9

As a note of explanation! I looked at all the tests (8) and looked at only the top varieties in the test by significance. What I mean is that these top varieties were statistically better than all the others in the test. If a variety was statistically better in more than one test, I put it on this list and gave you its ranking from the test where it was statically significant. So, all, except one variety, were in all 8 tests. Some varieties you may see in the overall results may rank high, but to make this list they need to rank in at least two tests and rank significantly! Clear as mud?

What I am hoping does come through is that these varieties seem to do well across locations and would be worth looking at for organic growers – if you can get untreated seed. That is the question?