By Jerry W. Jackson MCT

With organic food sales booming, the University of Florida will offer an undergraduate degree in organic agriculture beginning this fall.

UF said Wednesday it will be one of only three U.S. institutions to offer the major, joining Colorado State University and Washington State University, which have similar programs that debut this fall. UF has had a minor in organic agriculture for the past year.

Florida has a growing organic-food industry, but producers must look beyond the state to find highly trained personnel to manage their operations, said Dan Cantliffe, chairman of UF’s horticultural sciences department.

“This (program) is something that’s been long overdue,” Cantliffe said in a statement announcing the degree. “There’s a big industry, a big demand and a lack of people who are qualified to do the work employers need.”

Organic agriculture uses little or no synthetic chemical fertilizer and pesticide. The U.S. Department of Agriculture sets guidelines used to certify organic farms.

Last year, organic food accounted for $13.8 billion in U.S. sales, or about 2.5 percent of total food sales, according to a manufacturers’ survey commissioned by the Organic Trade Association. Since 1998, revenue from sales of organic foods have risen by an average of more than 18 percent a year.