Organic Yields on Par with Conventional and Ahead During Drought Years

[JohnyCanuck]

Organic Agriculture Enters Mainstream
Organic Yields on Par with Conventional and Ahead During Drought Years


Scientists who should know better - if only they had kept up with the literature - continue to tell the world that organic agriculture invariably means lower yields, especially compared to industrial high input agriculture, even when this has long been proven false {see for example, “Organic agriculture fights back”, SiS 16 (1); “Organic production works”, SiS 25 (2)}.

Researchers led by David Pimenthal, ecologist and agricultural scientist at Cornell University, New York, have now reviewed data from long-term field investigations and confirmed that organic yields are no different from conventional under normal growing conditions, but that they are far ahead during drought years {3}. The reasons are well known: organic soils have greater capacity to retain water as well as nutrients such as nitrogen.

Organic soils are also more efficient carbon sinks, and organic management saves on fossil fuel, both of which are important for mitigating global warming.

But by far the greatest gains are in savings on externalised costs associated with conventional industrial farming, which are estimated to exceed 25 percent of the total market value of United States’ agricultural output.

More at: http://www.i-sis.org.uk/OBCA.php

[phantom power]

1. Labour requirements

Interesting labor requirements. More labor, and more consistent labor demand. I used to consider this a detriment, but in our current economy it might be an improvement. Although I'm not sure if $13/hour puts you much above the poverty line.

Labour requirements

Each system was allowed 250 “free” family labour per month; while the cost of hired labour was $13 per hour. With organic farming system, the farmer was busy throughout the summer with the wheat crop, hairy vetch cover crop, and mechanical week control but worked less than 250 hours per month). In contrast, the conventional farmer had large labour requirements in the spring and fall, plating and harvesting, but little in the summer months.

Increase in labour input may range from 7 percent to a high of 75 percent in organic compared to conventional systems. But in situations where human labour is not in short supply, this too can be an advantage of organic agriculture in creating employment.