Key Points
- Objective: To evaluate the yield and economic differences of GMO, non-GMO and organic corn management programs.
- Lower Yield, Higher Economics: When solely comparing yield in 2025, the organic program had yield losses of -30.4 Bu/A compared to a traditional GMO program. When we take a look at the economics of the two programs, organic corn is a huge success! Using an $8/Bu sale price and $3.87/Bu premium, our organic corn crop had a positive return of $138.32/A.
- Weed Control: Our main concern with the organic program was weed control, and this will continue to be a major concern in future years of this study.
Let’s talk organic! Is it worth implementing organic farming practices? Can you produce enough yield for it to be worth it?
We know buyers are willing to pay a premium for organic produce, but we wanted to put it to the test and run real numbers to see if it is worth challenging the status quo of conventional farming practices.
2023 was our first true organic study at the PTI Farm. Since 2023, we have expanded this study to include comparisons of GMO, non-GMO and organic corn trials.
Organic vs. Conventional Study Results
When solely comparing yield, the 2023 organic program had yield losses of 27.9 Bu/A when compared to conventional farming methods. If we stop there, many growers would be quite hesitant to commit to organic corn. However, when we take a look at the economics of the two programs, organic corn is a huge success! Using a $7/Bu sale price, our organic corn crop had a positive return of $321.05/A over a conventional corn program.
Our main concern with this organic program was weed control, which has continued to be a major concern since 2023. However, we have implemented several new technologies that help manage the weeds quite well.
- Carbon Robotics LaserWeeder™ G2
- Garford camera-based Robocrop guided hoe
- Kadelbach Manufacturing Weed Flamer
GMO/Non-GMO/Organic Study Results
According to the latest 2025 data, our organic program proved overall yield losses of -30.4 Bu/A compared to the traditional commercial GMO program, but the economics proved an impressive +$138.32/A when factoring in an $8/Bu sale price and $3.87/Bu premium. The non-GMO platform resulted in yield losses of -7.8 Bu/A, though the $0.25/A premium, complimented with a lower seed and herbicide cost, resulted in economic gains of +$91.57/A. The only real management change with the non-GMO program was the removal of glyphosate from the program, while residual, post-program and all other practices remained the same.
When it comes to organic crops, it looks like the proof may be in the economics rather than the yield when comparing it to a conventional program!
Related Study Videos
InsidePTI S4•E16
Organic Corn Weed Control
Study Details
Study data collected 2023-2025 at the PTI Farm in Pontiac, IL.
| Planting Date | May 15th (2023-2025) | Rotation | CAB |
| Row Width | 30" | Population | 36K |
| Corn Prices | 2025 - $4.13 / $8.00 2024 - $4.08 / $6.08 2023 - $5.31 / $7.00 |
2025 GMO Program:
| Tillage | Fall Disk Ripper/Spring Soil Finisher |
| Dry Fertilizer Fall Applied | 200# 18-46-0, 200# 0-0-60 |
| 225# Nitrogen | 25% Weed-N-Feed, 25% Conceal, 50% Side-Dress |
| Herbicide | 1.2 Qt Acuron® Flexi/Atrazine PRE fb 1.2 Qt Acuron® Flexi/1Qt Atrazine/30oz Roundup |
| GMO Traited Seed | Wyffels 7945 |
| Fungicide | VT Miravis®Neo Fungicide |
2025 Non-GMO Program:
| Tillage | Fall Disk Ripper/Spring Soil Finisher |
| Dry Fertilizer Fall Applied | 200# 18-46-0, 200# 0-0-60 |
| 225# Nitrogen | 25% Weed-N-Feed, 25% Conceal, 50% Side-Dress |
| Herbicide | 1.2 Qt Acuron® Flexi/Atrazine PRE fb 1.2 Qt Acuron® Flexi/1Qt Atrazine |
| Non-GMO Seed | Prairie Hybrids 7445 |
| Fungicide | VT Miravis®Neo Fungicide |
2025 Organic Program:
| Tillage: | Fall Disk Ripper/Spring Soil Finisher |
| Dry Product: | 300# Phinite. Organic Fertilizer (3-12-0) |
| Dry Product: | 150# Sea-90 Dehydrated Sea-Water/Sodium Chloride |
| Organic Seed: | Prairie Hybrids 7461 |
| Pre-Emerge: | 40 Gal PAW + 5 Gal QLF® TerraFed™ |
| FurrowJet 3-Way | 3.25 Gal QLF® TerraFed™ 1N-0P-3K +10 Gal PAW+ 1.75 Gal BioXRG K-Ferm-Organic™ potassium acetate |
| Conceal Dual Band: | 15 Gal Ave Organics® 10-0-0 organic ammonium nitrate + 4 Gal QLF® TerraFed™ 1N-0P-3K |
| Weed Control: | VE-V2 Carbon Robotics LaserWeeder™ G2 V4 Garford camera-based Robocrop guided hoe V4 Kadelbach Manufacturing Weed Flamer |
| V6 Foliar: | 2 Gal QLF® TerraFed™ +20 Gal PAW + 1 Gal BioXRG KFerm-Organic™ 0-0-12 potassium acetate |
| V10 EZ Drop Side-Dress: | 15 Gal Ave Organics organic ammonium nitrate + 4Gal QLF® TerraFed™ 1N-0P-3K |
| V12 Foliar: | 1 Gal Nachurs® Pura-K™ 0-0-10, 10 Gal PAW Water |
| VT Foliar: | 1 Gal Nachurs® Pura-K 0-0-10, 2 Gal QLF® TerraFed™, 20 Gal Green Lightning PAW Water |
| R3 Foliar: | 20 Gal Green Lightning PAW Water |
*All products organic certified
