Editing Organic farming (section)

=== Soil conservation ===
{{Main|Soil conservation}}
Supporters claim that organically managed soil has a higher [[soil quality|quality]]<ref>{{cite journal | author=Johnston, A. E. | title=Soil organic-matter, effects on soils and crops | journal=Soil Use Management | year=1986 | volume=2 | issue=3 | pages=97–105 | doi=10.1111/j.1475-2743.1986.tb00690.x| bibcode=1986SUMan...2...97J }}</ref> and higher [[Water retention curve|water retention]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.adb.org/publications/organic-agriculture-and-post-2015-development-goals|title=Carbon Sequestration in Organic Agriculture and Climate Change: A Path to a Brighter Future (Chapter 11 of Organic Agriculture and Post-2015 Development Goals: Building on the Comparative Advantage of Poor Farmers)|date=June 23, 2015|publisher=[[Asian Development Bank]]|pages=293–321|first1=Paul Reed|last1=Hepperly|first2=Sununtar|last2=Setboonsarng}}</ref> This may help increase yields for organic farms in drought years. Organic farming can build up soil organic matter better than conventional no-till farming, which suggests long-term yield benefits from organic farming.<ref>ARS (2007) [http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2007/070710.htm Organic Farming Beats No-Till?]</ref> An 18-year study of organic methods on nutrient-depleted soil concluded that conventional methods were superior for [[soil fertility]] and yield for nutrient-depleted soils in cold-temperate climates, arguing that much of the benefit from organic farming derives from imported materials that could not be regarded as self-sustaining.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Kirchmann H | year = 2007 | title = Comparison of Long-Term Organic and Conventional Crop-Livestock Systems on a Previously Nutrient-Depleted Soil in Sweden | journal = Agronomy Journal | volume = 99 | issue = 4| pages = 960–972 | doi = 10.2134/agronj2006.0061 | last2 = Bergström | first2 = Lars | last3 = Kätterer | first3 = Thomas | last4 = Mattsson | first4 = Lennart | last5 = Gesslein | first5 = Sven | bibcode = 2007AgrJ...99..960K |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

In ''Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations'', geomorphologist David Montgomery outlines a coming crisis from soil [[erosion]]. Agriculture relies on roughly one meter of [[topsoil]], and that is being depleted ten times faster than it is being replaced.<ref>Seattle PI (2008). [http://www.seattlepi.com/national/348200_dirt22.html?source=mypi The lowdown on topsoil: it's disappearing]</ref> [[No-till]] farming, which some claim depends upon [[pesticides]], is one way to minimize erosion. However, a 2007 study by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service has found that manure applications in tilled organic farming are better at building up the soil than no-till.<ref name="organicsoil">{{cite web| title=No Shortcuts in Checking Soil Health |  publisher=USDA ARS | url=http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul07/soil0707.htm | access-date=2 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paul-Hepperly/publication/332031711_Developments_in_Organic_No_Till_agriculture_the_best_of_both_worlds/links/5c9bf530299bf111694bc67f/Developments-in-Organic-No-Till-agriculture-the-best-of-both-worlds.pdf|last1=Hepperly|first1= Paul|first2= Jeff |last2=Moyer|first3= Dave |last3=Wilson|title=Developments in Organic No-till Agriculture |publisher=Acres USA: The Voice of Eco-agriculture |date=September 2008 |pp=16-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Paul |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=aniW3gclsMUC}}|title=The End of Food |date=2008 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=978-0-618-60623-8 |language=en}}</ref>Roberts, Paul. "The End of Food: Investigating a Global Crisis." Interview with Acres USA. Acres USA: The Voice of Eco-Agriculture October 2008: 56-63.</ref>

Gunsmoke Farms, a {{convert|137|km2|abbr=off}} organic farming project in [[South Dakota]], suffered from massive soil erosion as result of tiling after it switched to organic farming.<ref>{{Cite news|title=A Giant Organic Farm Faces Criticism That It's Harming The Environment|language=en|work=NPR.org|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/05/03/989984124/a-giant-organic-farm-faces-criticism-that-its-harming-the-environment|access-date=2021-11-29}}</ref>