As far as the environmental effectiveness of organic farming standards is concerned, the results of this study suggest that conventional farms perform on a par with organic farms in terms of pollutant emission control per unit input in extensive crop cultivation of vine in arid areas. We find no significant difference in the impact of environmental regulation on productivity between the two systems, which might indicate that organic and conventional farms stand more or less equal in terms of emissions per unit input. Thus, in relative terms, the environmental gains from organic vineyard cultivation under dry land conditions appear to be low. This impression may stem from the fact that this study focuses on extensive vine cultivation, where emissions are so low under both production systems that restrictions on the use of nitrogen or copper per hectare are not enforced. It is therefore worth investigating this issue for other crops and agro-climatic areas.