The Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial® 23 Years of Scientific Data & Discovery “It is a National Treasure. We will continue to work at The Rodale Institute® to explore and discover new frontiers in agriculture science that will help shape the best policies to improve and maintain human and environmental health." -- John Haberern, President, The Rodale Institute Developed to test assumptions about organic farming methods on a large scale and in a scientifically sound systematic way that is scientifically sound, but also relevant to farmers. Approach reflects the reality of a commercial farm, using farm scale management techniques to help farmers balance economic concerns with environmental and soil stewardship concerns. Longest continuous comparison of organic and conventional agricultural methods in the United States. Compares three cropping systems on 12 acres: conventional (represents a typical cash grain farm operation, using a simple five-year crop rotation of corn, corn, soybeans, corn and soybeans - chemical fertilizer and pesticide applications follow recommendations of Penn State University); organic / manure based (representing a livestock operation, using a diversified five-year crop rotation that is more complex than the rotation used in a conventional system); organic / legume based (represents a cash grain operation without livestock using a rotation scheme that includes corn, soybeans and small grains, and relying on nitrogen fixing green manure cover crops as the primary nitrogen source). Finding: Organic agriculture systems absorb and retain carbon at significant levels in soil. This important finding suggests a key role for agriculture in reversing global warming. Organic systems increase soil carbon 15 to 28%, accumulating about 1,000 pounds of carbon per acre foot of soil each year (equal to about 3,500 pounds of carbon dioxide per acre taken from the air and sequestered into soil organic matter). Finding: Organic farming practices emit one-third fewer greenhouse gases by eliminating the energy inputs required to produce pesticides and fertilizers. Finding: Crops grown under organic systems are economically and environmentally sound; they yield as well or better than conventional systems, and demonstrate better resistance to drought conditions. After a transition period of four years, the organic corn and soybean yields were comparable to the conventional systems. Production costs were 26% lower in the organic systems. In drought years, corn yields in the legume-based system were 22% higher than yields in the conventional system. Finding: Organic farming increases soil nitrogen levels 8 to 15%, and reduces nitrogen loss that may occur through leaching - a pollution problem that impacts the health of our water quality. Finding: Organic farming also reduces local and regional ground-water pollution by eliminating the use of agricultural chemicals such as atrazine. Organic agriculture is the fastest growing sector of agriculture. Worldwide, it has grown at a double- digit increase over the last two decades. Related articles: October 10th press release - www.strauscom.com/rodale-release Text of the October 10th Statement of Cooperation - www.strauscom.com/rodale-MOU About The Rodale Institute - www.strauscom.com/rodale-background The Whitepaper - www.strauscom.com/rodale-whitepaper