Economics of Farming Systems

Organic farming practices by their nature change social cost accounting, as they tend to internalize and make contemporaneous the various costs including those of conservation. They may reduce the return to labor and add to the total labor requirement of U.S. agriculture. The most significant meaning of organic practices may lie in their social accounting. Some organic practices, on the other hand, have long-run benefits to the farm where they are applied. Moreover, they not only protect runoff water now, but build up and protect soil for the future. Organic farming is not homogeneous. In a sense, it is even scarcely fitting to pose a general question about the economics of organic farming. Environmental issues in agriculture often turn on whether costs and/or benefits are internalized or externalized.