Organics on the rise

The organic food industry has been growing fast recently, and some experts say the market may be pulling producers toward a full-scale conversion.

Farm Service Agency Hill County Office Executive Director Les Rispens said the county's organically certified acres have probably doubled in the last five years.

"And that's a conservative guess on my part," he added.

Rispens cited the example of organic wheat to illustrate that one reason for its success are higher prices due to the product being limited to a U.S. market instead of a world market. It's a smaller and more competitive market, he...