Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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The Organic Obstruction: Roadblocks to Gains in Organic Farming 
http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/12/organic-obstruction/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TriplePundit+%28Triple+Pundit%29

Anyone with an ear to the ground of domestic agriculture has probably heard 
the sound of the Western Corn Rootworm happily munching away at Monsanto’s 
supposedly invincible, genetically-modified corn. If allowed to spread, these 
new, highly-resistant insects could decimate the United States’ top staple 
crop. Meanwhile, UN scientists believe that Europe, Africa, and island 
nations will experience the worst effects of extreme weather conditions such 
as drought in the next few years, but we aren’t getting off easy, either. By 
late August of this year, the United States had already seen a record number 
of billion-dollar environmental disasters (with Consumer Price Index 
valuation adjustments). Clearly, something must be done to avert, or at least 
mitigate, these catastrophes. Agriculture, which accounts for roughly eight 
percent of US greenhouse gas emissions, might have a powerful solution.

It has been well publicized that yields from organic farms are about 20 
percent smaller than conventional farming equivalents. However, the recently 
published results of a 30-year study conducted by the Rodale Institute 
demonstrate that organic yields catch up over time and eventually even 
surpass conventional ones. Part of this is due to the fact that organic 
farming systems build, rather than deplete, diverse organic matter in the 
soil, which contributes to a 15-20 percent increase in water retention. 
Rather than allowing water to run off of the surface and take soil with it, 
this has the effect of replenishing more of it into the reserves, thereby 
boosting yields during times of drought.

Each of these factors makes a compelling case for organic farming practices 
to be climate change’s magic wand, but don’t hold your breath, because the 
sad reality is that persistent marketing and the influx of questionable 
imports have distorted many Americans’ perception of the rate of growth for 
domestic organic agriculture. As of 2008, organic farms only accounted for 
0.52 percent of total U.S. croplands while growing at a paltry rate of 0.0385 
percent.

What is the cause of this insufficiency? Despite the statistics mentioned 
above, government subsidies provide an unfair advantage to conventional 
farmers, making it cheaper for them to produce their crops while producing 40 
percent more greenhouse gases and utilizing environmentally-damaging 
chemicals. The salt in the wounds is more evident when one considers that 
organic farming practices also require 45 percent less energy, meaning that 
if conventional farmers’ hidden costs weren’t being subsidized, shelf prices 
for organic products would actually be lower.