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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Laboratory for Agriculture and The Environment » Agroecosystems Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #315220
Title: A review of long-term organic comparison trials in the U.S.

Author
item DELATE, KATHLEEN - Iowa State University
item Cambardella, Cynthia
item TURNBULL, ROBERT - Iowa State University

Submitted to: Sustainable Agriculture Research
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/22/2015
Publication Date: 6/20/2015
Citation: Delate, K., Cambardella, C.A., Turnbull, R. 2015. A review of long-term organic comparison trials in the U.S. Sustainable Agriculture Research. 4(3):5-14.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Long-term organic farming system trials were established across the U.S. to capture baseline agronomic, economic and environmental data related to organic conversion under varying climatic conditions. These sites have proven useful in providing supporting evidence for successful transition from conventional to organic practices. All experiments chosen for this review were transdisciplinary in nature; analyzed comprehensive system components (productivity, soil health, pest status, and economics); and contained all crops within each rotation and cropping system each year to ensure the most robust analysis. In addition to yield comparisons, necessary for determining the viability of organic operations, ecosystem services, such as soil carbon capture, nutrient cycling, pest suppression, and water quality enhancement, have been documented for organic systems in these trials. Outcomes from these long-term trials have been critical in elucidating factors underlying less than optimal yields in organic systems, which typically involved inadequate weed management and insufficient soil fertility in certain sites. Finally, these experiments serve as valuable demonstrations of the economic viability of organic systems for farmers and policymakers interested in viewing farm-scale organic operations and crop performance.