Organic Corn Yields Surpass Conventional,
Research From 27-Years Study Shows

KUTZTOWN, PA (April 12, 2007), Fresh analysis dispels the myth that yields from organic fields are always lower than yields from conventional production.

Data from The Rodale Institute's 27-year Farming Systems Trial (FST) has shown that over time, corn yields from organically managed fields can equal and even surpass yields from conventionally farmed fields. Organic practices also improve soil quality and result in fewer greenhouse gases in the air and less pollutants in the water.

The 13-acre FST began in 1981, making it the United States, longest-running scientifically controlled comparison of organic and conventional crop production systems. During the first few years of the FST, while the organically farmed plots were going through the transition process and building up biological activity in the soil, yields from conventional cornfields were superior. But the organic plots soon entered a long phase, from 1985 until 1993, when their yields averaged out to equal those of the conventionally farmed plots.

From 1995 to 2006, corn yields from organic plots averaged out to surpass the conventional plots; this period included both severe drought years and a record wet summer. During the drought years, organic corn yields were 28 to 34 percent higher. During the rainy summer of 2004, organic yields were 13 percent higher and contained 15 percent more protein than corn grown in the conventional plots.

These increased yields are the end result of more than two decades of continuous soil improvements through organic farming techniques. Tests show that from 1981 to today, soil quality has greatly increased in the plots under organic management, but has not increased in the conventional plots. The organic soil now contains 30 percent more carbon, 15 percent more total nitrogen and 225 percent more biological activity than it did at the beginning of the FST project.

"This transformation of the organic fields is like the race of the tortoise and the hare," says Dr. Paul Hepperly, The Rodale Institute's research and training manager. "Our research has shown that the organic systems are now pulling ahead on four fronts: namely, soil quality, drought tolerance, crop quality and overall yield. While it takes time to change worn-out soil into rich, healthy soil, it is well worth the effort and wait."

The Rodale Institute's long-term commitment to research has demonstrated that agricultural chemical fertilizers and pesticides are not prerequisites for high, consistent field crop yields and quality. By patiently improving base soil fertility, organic farmers can make big changes. Over a period of years they can achieve yields that are competitive with conventional agriculture while cutting costs and energy consumption. Further, they can eliminate the negative environmental impact of agri-chemicals used in conventional food production.