Organic farmers have suggested that record sales and every indication of a recovering organic sector in the UK hint at an 'industry split' over low-impact agriculture, after Lord John Krebs made disparaging remarks about organic farming during his address at the Oxford Farming Conference last Wednesday.  

Key players from the country's largest organic charity and certification body, the Soil Association, responded to Lord Krebs' comments while the Oxford conferences were ongoing, with Policy Director Peter Melchett dismissing the "seemingly obligatory" pop at organic farming, and the organisation's chief executive Helen Browning claiming she was "Bemused by the hostility towards organic which [appeared] at odds with the rest of the lecture."

Krebs' scathing criticism of organic farming was based on the increased amount of land needed to facilitate organic farming and the subsequent increase in the amount of carbon released from the soil. During the lecture in which the original comments were made, Lord Krebs called for the smarter use of nitrogen fertiliser and said the use of GM crops could benefit the environment.

Helen Browning argued, "John Krebs is out of date. [He] ignores the vital need to measure agricultural productivity in yield per tonnes of input per hectare, and not simply yield per hectare. When the increasing use of non-renewable inputs is considered, non-organic farming is significantly less productive than organic, and the productivity of non-organic is falling because conventional farming is using more and more fertiliser inputs simply to keep yields level." 

She also said the focus of organic on building up soil health, including cover cropping with nitrogen fixing crops mean organically managed land stores significant amounts of carbon in the soil over time.

According to the UK government, agriculture is responsible for 9 percent of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions; it is Lord Krebs' job to reduce this figure in line with the UK's target of reducing greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050.

Since the spat, pro-organic groups have cited University of California Berkeley research that shows the yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture is smaller than has often been claimed, and that this differences diminishes further when positive agroecological techniques are employed, which make farming systems more resilient. The Berkeley researchers concluded that organic does have a key part to play in "feeding the world."

However, late last year, when departing Soil Association trustees cited senior members' lack of commitment to the organic charity's founding ideals as their reason for quitting, Browning said in a written response that "If we are to see real change in the world we need to work positively with all farmers - organic or not - sharing the research and knowledge of organic farming techniques, and learning from them too."