Although production costs of organic specialty crops can be higher than conventional production, some organic commodity crops have lower costs of production than the same conventional crops. A recent study of corn and soybean production in Iowa found that organic farms had lower fertilizer and pesticide costs, but higher seed and machinery costs. On the average, the total cost of organic production was slightly lower than that of conventional production. A SARE- funded study of organic potatoes in Idaho found no overall difference in fixed and variable costs when compared to traditional production. A number of studies comparing organic.
