Everyone can agree that “green” is the way to go, but not everyone agrees on the method to get there. Is it best to use conventional farming practices, organic production or the latest in biotechnology? There may be different reasons why farmers choose a particular method, but the fact of the matter is that all three can be used to grow crops in a profitable and sustainable manner.
Organic farming occupies less than 0.2 percent of the total soybean acreage in the United States, but plays a valuable role in the sustainability performance of the overall soy crop. Cost of production can be greater than for a non-organic soybean system due to regulations for maintaining an organic cropping system, but the significant premium paid to producers for organic soybeans – as much as $7 to $10 per bushel – compensates for much of the additional cost. Additionally, market demand for organic products continues to increase. In the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service GAIN (Global Agricultural Information Network) Report dated February, 2011, demand for organic foods is rising in Mexico, making “Mexico an attractive market for U.S. exporters of organic food products.1”
The same situation applies to soybeans grown by means of conventional methods. They occupy a relatively small percentage of soybeans grown in the U.S., but some farmers choose to grow them because the cost of seed is less than that of biotech seeds, and there are less industry restrictions on the usage of conventional vs. biotech seeds. Through conservation tillage practices, effective crop rotation and smart planting, conventional farming has a high sustainability performance. It may require more labor and higher operating costs, but there is a market for crops grown using conventional methods.
Biotechnology has taken large steps toward becoming the predominant cropping system for soy. Biotech soybeans have helped enable wider use of conservation tillage and no-till practices, which have significantly reduced CO2 emissions, reduced erosion, preserved topsoil and decreased herbicide runoff.2 Even though the cost of biotech seeds is higher, this can be offset by the reduced cost of using less herbicides. Therefore, the cost per acre of growing biotech seeds vs. conventional seeds is nearly identical.
By the year 2040, the world’s population is estimated to be 9 billion. As we know, the UN has called for an increase of 50% in the world’s food supply to meet demand by 2030. There is a place for all three methods of soybean farming – organic, conventional and biotech – in order to meet these goals in sustainable ways.
Sources:
1 Organic Foods Find Growing Niche in Mexico, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, GAIN Report
2 U.S. Soybean Production: A Comparison of Sustainable Production Systems for Conventional, Biotech, and Organic Soybeans, Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST)
