AbstractRecent energy and environmental problems in U.S. agriculture have stimulated interest in alternative technologies or systems of agricultural production. Large‐scale, mechanized organic farms that use little or no inorganic fertilizers or chemical pesticides may be one such alternative. The crop production on fourteen matched pairs of organic and conventional Corn Belt farms was studied to determine the relative value of crop output, net returns, energy intensiveness, and labor requirements. The results of this preliminary study suggest that organic farming warrants more intensive research.