It comes as no surprise to anyone that the number of organic farms is booming to meet consumer demand for healthy food.

The challenge has been feeding all of those cows. Acreage of organic forage, such as hay and alfalfa, has grown 40 percent in the past two years, yet isn’t keeping pace with demand. In particular, high-protein crops like soybeans that are necessary feed for dairy cows are in short supply in some regions, forcing some companies to import them from as far away as China.

Given the recent problems with food and ingredient imports from China, in which a slew of products have been turned away by U.S. inspectors amid claims they are tainted, one might wonder if organic feed is actually organic.

It’s estimated that demand for organic feed is growing 20 percent each year, while U.S. production of organic row crops, such as corn and other feed, is growing only by as much as 4 percent.

Add in the “ethanol tsunami” that is encouraging more farmers to grow corn for biofuel rather than feed, and the shortage could continue for organic growers for a long time.

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