organic corn yields were 94% of conventional corn, organic soybean yields were 94% of conventional, and organic wheat yields were 97% of conventional.

mixed farms allow animals to feed on crop residues still in the field after harvest.

Legume cover crops can add as much as 150

The farmer can then design a farm so that pests are minimized. This starts with crop diversity, but it also means providing habitat for a diverse group of beneficial insects, predatory birds, and mammal predators.

While the seedlings are growing in the greenhouse, we can irrigate the fields to germinate weeds. When the weeds are small, we shallowly till to kill the weeds. When the crop seedlings are large enough, we can transplant them into the soil, and they will have a big head start against the weeds.”

pests can evolve resistance to the pesticides.

Compost

“With mutation breeding, seeds are put in a highly carcinogenic solution or treated with radiation to induce random changes in the DNA. After germination, surviving seedlings that have new and useful traits are then adopted by breeders.”

Switching from metolachlor to glyphosate in