The Rodale Institute's "Farming Systems Trial" is the longest-running investigation that compared organic and conventional grain-cropping approaches in North America.

Organic farming does not leak toxic compounds into nearby waterways, uses 45 percent less energy and emits 40 percent less carbon into the atmosphere than conventional farming.

According to the report, switching to a regenerative food system could provide sufficient food for the world's population, reduce chemical exposures and improve biodiversity. It has also indicated that yields for the organic approach become competitive with those of conventional systems after a five-year transition period.

The trial measured differences in soil health, energy efficiency, crop yields, water use and contamination and nutrient density across test plots of grains grown in organic and conventional systems. The grains were the main focus of the study as they represented 70 percent of U.S. crops. These were planted on 72 experimental plots and applied organic manure, organic legume and conventional synthetic.

Organic manure represented a typical organic dairy or beef operation. It featured long rotations of annual feed grain crops and perennial forage crops fertilized through legume cover crops and periodic applications of composted manure and used diverse crop rotations as the primary defense against pests.