Organic

I have been repeatedly referred to the ‘New Farm’ website as a source of quality information on organic farming systems.

But I can’t find any actual data at this site and my request for specific data seems to have just got me receiving their newsletter.

I note the site says:

One of the key features of the FST is its scale –small enough to follow rigorous scientific procedures for experimental design but large enough to be worked with regular equipment and to generate results readily applicable to normal farm operations. The level field of mostly shale-y, somewhat compacted silt loam is broken into eight blocks, or replications, with each block containing three plots, 60 ft wide by 300 ft long, and each plot divided lengthwise into three subplots. Eight replications of each of the three cropping systems are randomized across the blocks; while the subplots allow each rotation to be started simultaneously at three points, so the effects of annual weather variations are distributed across different phases of the cropping cycle. Datasets from the FST include weather records; energy and labor inputs; corn, soybean, wheat, and forage yields; weed, crop, and cover crop biomass figures; nutrient analyses of crops and cover crops; soil carbon and nitrogen levels; soil percolation rates; nitrate, phosphate, and pesticide leachate data; soil biodiversity surveys; and economic return evaluations.

Results from the FST have been reported in dozens of scientific papers over the years, and include this core finding: corn and soybean yields are the same across the three systems. Although corn yields were about a third lower in the organic systems during the first four years of the study, in subsequent years the organic systems actually outperformed the conventional system under droughty conditions.

Can someone give me a link or reference to a few of these scientific papers and/or how do I get to see the data from these trials?

According to the Britian’s Observer newspaper:

Britain’s organic food revolution was facing its first serious test last night after an Observer investigation revealed disturbing levels of fraud within the industry.

Farmers, retailers and food inspectors have disclosed a catalogue of malpractice, including producers falsely passing off food as organic and retailers failing to gain accreditation from independent inspectors. The findings raise concerns that consumers paying high premiums for organic food are being ripped off.

… Figures from market research agency Mintel suggest three out of four households now buy some organic food and environmental groups said fraudulent activity within the industry must be stamped out for the sake of customers and legitimate farmers.

“It is not right consumers are paying over the odds because of fraudsters,” said Vicki Hird, Friends of the Earth’s food campaigner.

“These people are causing economic damage to other businesses who are playing by the rules,” said Jenny Morris of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

There are fears an increasing amount of ‘organic’ food is coming in from overseas making it difficult to establish its provenance.

“There are no tests for proving food is organic,” Morris said. “So it comes down to traceability, you have to follow a paper trail.”

So it all comes down to a paper trail?