An article in the USDA publication Amber Waves reported on organic field crop acreage, production, and profits, based on data from USDA’s 2010, 2009, and 2006 Agricultural Resource Management Survey. These USDA survey data show that organic systems had lower yields and higher total economic costs than conventional systems. The data reveal that organic corn and soybeans have been profitable, primarily due to the significant price premiums paid for certified organic crops that more than offset the additional economic costs.
Organic wheat has also been profitable, but less so. Despite potentially higher returns, adoption of the organic approach among U.S. field crop producers remains at less than 1% of the total acreage of each crop, likely due to low crop yields and challenges of effective weed control, among other factors. However, organic crop acreage increased from about 1.3 million to almost 3.1 million acres between 2002 and 2011.