Here is an answer to the question of whether or not organic farming outperforms conventional farming, and it's in the results of a 30 year trial done by the Rodale Institute in PA. Paul Hanley at the StarPhoenix has the story:

The results are in from a 30-year side-by-side trial of conventional and organic farming methods at Pennsylvania's Rodale Institute. Contrary to conventional wisdom, organic farming outperformed conventional farming in every measure.

There are about 1,500 organic farmers in Saskatchewan, at last count. They eschew the synthetic fertilizers and toxic sprays that are the mainstay of conventional farms. Study after study indicates the conventional thinking on farming - that we have to tolerate toxic chemicals because organic farming can't feed the world - is wrong.

Read the full article here