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Last year chemical ag behemoth Monsanto trumpeted the yield
possibilities of a drought-tolerant, genetically engineered corn
variety. And DuPont recently touted drought-tolerant crops as the next
“big thing” in the good fight to feed the world. According to DuPont’s
press materials they feel the “productivity…must be accompanied by an
intense and innovative effort to enhance the environmental imprint of
farming to be sustainable.”

Good news DuPont and Monsanto: Organic production is the answer you’ve been looking for!

The
Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial has been tracking the
performance of organically managed fields and conventionally managed
fields for the last 30 years. The yield results dispute the oft-cited
misconception that organic farming uses more resources to produce less
food. And, the resilience of the organically-managed fields in drought
years is incredible.

In four out of five drought
years the organic corn significantly out-yielded conventional. By how
much? Well, Monsanto heralded the field trial success of their drought
tolerant corn last year as “one of our most significant R&D
milestones” with yields between 6.7% and 13.4% higher than other corn
varieties under drought conditions.