Research & Scientific Evidence
The Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial
To provide a scientific basis to back the development of the USDA Certification, the Rodale Institute established the Farming Systems Trial in 1981, and it remains the longest-running side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional grain cropping systems in North America. The goal of the Farming Systems Trial was to establish a growing base of scientific knowledge to support the adoption of organic agriculture. The trial compares three agricultural systems:
- Conventional grain production
- Organic systems using legume cover crops
- Organic systems using composted manure
More than four decades of research from the Farming Systems Trial demonstrate that organic systems can match conventional yields while improving soil health, water retention, and farm profitability and lays a strong foundation for the adoption of organic agricultural systems that can improve the health of people and the planet.
Explore the Rodale Institute 40-Year Farming Systems Trial Report.
Soil Health Research
Healthy Soil=Healthy Food=Healthy People™
Soil is the sturdy base of every organic farm, and our understanding of it is continually changing. In 2022, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned that 90 percent of the Earth’s topsoil is likely to be at risk by 2050. That staggering statistic is the equivalent of one soccer pitch of earth eroding every five seconds.
Thanks to the work of scientists around the world, new scientific evidence is providing a deeper understanding of the ways regenerative organic agriculture leads to healthy soil, healthy people, and a healthy planet.
Some basic facts include:
- Soils rich in organic matter hold more air and water and produce higher yields than soils low in organic matter.
- Adding compost, using cover crops and mulches, and limiting tillage—basic principles of organic soil management—increase and preserve organic matter.
- Organic methods can lock nitrogen and carbon in the soil.
- Nodules that form on the roots of legumes contain bacteria that extract nitrogen from the air and fix it in the soil, allowing the next crops planted in the rotation to absorb it as a nutrient.
Rodale Institute conducts extensive soil research that explores:
- Soil carbon sequestration
- Microbial diversity in organic soils
- Climate resilience of organic farming systems
- Soil health indicators for regenerative agriculture
Explore Rodale Institute’s current research publications.
Together, We Can Grow a Better Future
