Organic farming is now a fast-growing segment of agriculture devoted to growing crops and raising livestock without the aid of chemicals. As concerns in the consumer food marketplace have grown about mono-culture farming and the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, the farming community has responded by increasing the amount of acreage devoted to organic agriculture. Most states, and state university systems, offer official programs to educate and direct funding and research to organic farming initiatives, along with certification programs aimed at providing standards for what crops and livestock can be considered 'organic.' Although much of heirloom crop and heritage livestock farming efforts are organic, these are considered an ancillary category to mainstream organic farming.

 

Some resources are:

U.S.D.A., National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service:
http://www.attra.org/organic.htm

International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements:
http://www.ifoam.org/

U.S. Evironmental Protection Agency, Organic Farming:
http://www.epa.gov/oecaagct/torg.html

Organic Farming Research Foundation: http://ofrf.org/index.html