Reply #2: Some longer term organic famers have found that yields [View All]

have increased over time, surpassing what the land produced using conventional chemical farming. Apparently conditioning the soil over time rather than repeatedly mining it while chemically replacing what the plants take up has a positive effect on both quanitity and quality of product.

Agribusiness went to chemical farming because of the convenience and predictability. It was certainly a lot more convenient to transport and spread a balanced NPK powdered fertilizer than it was to lug, compost, and then spread manure from a dairy farm. Insect control was more predictable with pesticides than it was with a balance of insect predators.

I love to see articles like this, but there is often a very rough five to seven year transition period from chemical farming to organic during which there is reduced yield combined with maximum damage from insects. A rational society would offer support for farmers willing to risk the change.