Organic Farming Goes High-Tech

Insects can’t attack crops when their mating is disrupted. Insights like these are helping farmers improve yields without synthetic pesticides.

Organic foods experienced record growth in 2015 with sales growing 11% in a year. Many consumers throughout the nation are becoming fans, shunning pesticide-laced foods, and spending their grocery money to prove it.

Data from the Organic Trade Association

In 2015, sales of organic foods reached $43.3 billion nationwide as more organic producers become certified than ever before. Organic fruits and vegetables remain by far the largest category of organic foods sold in the U.S while the fastest-growing category was condiments.

With the rapid rise in demand, there comes a need for new technologies that improve production efficiencies, automate farming practices, and minimize food waste.

Thanks to recent technological advancements and supplier attention toward organic farming, the price gap between organic and traditional foods is closing.

Consumer Reports made a simple comparison between common grocery items of organic and non-organic varieties to see the true price differences, which varied widely by food. They found that while organic foods were 47% more expensive on average, some organics such…