Profitability of Organic Cropping Systems in Southwestern Minnesota

Abstract

In spite of concerns, Minnesota's dominant cropping system is the corn-soybean rotation using synthetic pesticides and chemically processed fertilizers. Using experimental data from 1990-1999, this study compared the profitability of organic versus conventional strategies. Net return (NR) was calculated from actual yields, operations, inputs, prices, and organic premiums. Yields and costs were lower for the 4-year organic strategy. With premiums, the 4-year organic strategy had NRs significantly higher than conventional strategies; without premiums, the NRs were statistically equal (p = 0.05). Thus, the 4-year organic strategy was not less profitable nor its NR more variable than the conventional strategies in this study.