%A Padruot M. Fried
%A Urs Zihlmann
%A Fredi Strasser
%A Ruedi Tschachtli
%A Helmut Ammann
%A David Dubois
%T How economic is organic? Results of a long-term trial at Burgrain/Lucerne, Switzerland
%X Long-term trials are necessary not only to judge agronomic and ecological indicators when studying organic farming, but also to analyze and describe economic parameters. From 1997-2002, an organic arable farming system (Bio) was compared with two Integrated farming systems (IP intensive and IP extensive) on 6 plots in a 6-year crop rotation at Burgrain near Lucerne, Switzerland. The 6 plots were subdivided into 3 subplots of 0.65 ha each. In the organic system, the input of fertilizer and pesticides was substantially reduced, which resulted in a yield reduction of 19% over all 4 arable crops and of 14% if the temporary lays are included. Nevertheless, the organic system showed an excellent net profit, mainly due to the higher prices paid to the farmers for the organic products. The influence of the direct governmental payments was less pronounced.
%D 2005
%K Organic Farming, Economics, Long-term Trial, Net Profit, Field Crops  
%L orgprints4352