ND Department of Agriculture Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 20, 2008

NEW WEBSITE SERVES NORTH DAKOTA ORGANIC INDUSTRY

BISMARCK – North Dakota’s organic agriculture industry now has its own web site –www.ndorganics.nd.gov.

Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson and Brad Brummond, Park River, chairman of the North Dakota Organic Advisory Board, unveiled the new web site Thursday, at a news conference in Bismarck.

“This resource brings North Dakota’s organic community – organic producers, suppliers, processors and consumers – together,” Johnson said. “It provides certification information, consumer information, links to other sites and an overview of organic farming in our state.”

"This is the first comprehensive web site of its kind for the organic industry in North Dakota,” Brummond said. “It’s a must-see for anyone interested in North Dakota organic agriculture."

“One of the key features of the web site is the on-line directory for users to find a producer or processor by name, town or product,” Johnson said. “Take buckwheat for example; just type ‘buckwheat’ in the directory search engine, and the names and contact information of 15 producers appear.”

The next planned feature of the web site will be an online classified advertising section for North Dakota organic producers to post their products for sale for up to 30 days at no charge.

"We have needed this for years – I get phone calls all the time from organic producers and consumers asking who sells what or who buys what,” Brummond said.

"Now, people have a ready resource for finding organic commodities and customers.”

The web site also includes marketing information, links to other agricultural and organic sites, and an events calendar.

The web site is maintained by the North Dakota Organic Advisory Board and is hosted by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA).

The 14-member advisory board, created in 2006, provides organic industry stakeholders with a forum to work with NDDA in developing and promoting organic production, certification, processing and marketing industries.

Johnson noted that as of 2005, North Dakota ranks second in the nation in organic cropland acres and seventh in organic pasture.

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MEDIA: For more information, please call Ted Quanrud at (701) 328-2233 or tquanrud@nd.gov or Patrice Lahlum at (701) 239-7210 or plahlum@nd.gov.