Certified acres of organic apples expanded by more than 60 percent in 2008, at the same time that the rate of growth of organic food sales slowed to the lowest level in 20 years, according to a Washington State University report. Organic apples now represent about 8 percent of the state’s total apple acreage. The report, compiled by sustainable agriculture specialist David Granatstein and assistant Elizabeth Kirby, shows that there were 12,936 acres of organic apples in Washington in 2008, with another 4,256 acres in transition. Certified organic cherries increased by 70 percent from 2007 to 1,738 acres in 2008. […]