California’s organic sector is the largest in the United States, yet growers face persistent agronomic, economic, and regulatory challenges that limit the sector’s growth and resilience. This project conducted a statewide mixed-methods needs assessment on behalf of the UC Organic Agriculture Institute, drawing on 65+ in-depth interviews and surveys with 400+ organic farmers across the state.
Findings informed institutional research priorities and contributed to the development of a statewide organic agriculture knowledge network. The project also examined how challenges in organic agriculture exhibit asymmetric economies of scale — with smaller operations facing disproportionately greater burdens — and the structural contradictions embedded in California’s organic production system.
Outputs#
- Rangarajan, S., Wilson, H., Lubell, M., Lloyd, M. Structural contradictions in organic agriculture: a DPSIR analysis of California production. Agriculture and Human Values (accepted).
- Rangarajan, S., Wilson, H., & Lubell, M. (2026). Agronomic and systemic challenges in organic agriculture exhibit asymmetric economies of scale. Agricultural Systems, 234, 104645. Link
- Rangarajan, S., Lubell, M., Muramoto, J., & Wilson, H. (2024). Challenges in organic agriculture in California: Summary of findings from a statewide needs assessment. UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. Link
- Preliminary findings on the CCOF blog, April 2024
- Interview on the MyAgLife podcast, July 2024
- Invited panels at the Ecological Farming Association 2024 and Organic Growers Summit 2023