Comparison of Production Costs and Resource Use for Organic and Conventional Production Systems

The USDA established the National Organic Program (NOP) to develop national standards for organically produced agricultural products and establish an organic certification program as required by the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) passed by Congress in 1990. Organic crop production excludes conventional pesticides, petroleum – based fertilizers, and sewage sludge based fertilizers with some notable exceptions. OFPA also required the establishment of the “National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances” for use in organic agriculture. The National List includes allowed synthetic substances and prohibited non-synthetic (natural) materials. The NOP crop standards require that soil fertility and crop nutrients be managed through tillage and cultivation practices, crop rotations and cover crops, supplemented with animal and crop waste materials, allowed mined substances, and synthetic materials allowed on the National List. Similarly, crop pests, weeds, and diseases are required to be controlled primarily through cultural practices such as tillage and cultivation, hand weeding, crop rotations, sanitation, and the introduction of predators or parasites. When these methods prove to be insufficient, growers may use approved natural or synthetic substances on the National List. Therefore, contrary to popular perceptions, NOP regulations do not require organic production practices to be void of fertilizers and pesticides. In practice, the use of allowable supplemental fertilizers and pesticides varies from crop to crop depending on pest pressures,