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| Best of NAMA 2026 |
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PURDUE ISSUES REPORT ON CONVENTIONAL AND ORGANIC ENTERPRISE NET RETURNS
Jun. 15, 2026
by Michael Langemeier, Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN - Information pertaining to the relative profitability of conventional and organic production is often lacking. A previous article compared organic vs conventional crop returns using FINBIN data from 2019 to 2023 (Langemeier, 2023). This article uses FINBIN data from 2021 to 2025 to update comparisons of crop yields, gross revenue, total expense, and net returns for conventional and organic alfalfa, corn, oats, soybeans, and winter wheat. The organic enterprise data represents farms that have already transitioned to organic production, and thus, do not include information pertaining to the transition phase.
Table 1 shows the average conventional and organic crop yields for alfalfa, corn, oats, soybeans, and winter wheat. The ratio illustrated in the last column of the table was computed by dividing the organic crop yield by the conventional crop yield. Alfalfa exhibited the smallest difference in crop yields (3 percent) between conventional and organic crops. The yield drags for corn, oats, soybeans, and winter wheat were 24 percent, 36 percent, 23 percent, and 6 percent, respectively.
To read entire report, Click Here.
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