Organic farming has long suffered from a lack of comprehensive data. At OF&G we hear plenty of anecdotal reports of producers at least matching their previous non-organic yields after a few years of conversion, or of dairy producers even beating their non-organic production levels.
What we’ve always struggled with is reliable empirical data from properly scientific studies. Now though, the US-based Rodale Institute has wrapped-up its 30-year Farming System Trial with some hugely encouraging facts and figures that go a long, long way to putting paid to the jaded arguments about organic being less productive. In essence, they suggest we can’t afford to do other than ensure the benefits of organic systems are entrenched in our methods of food production for an increasingly unstable future.
