Like many beneficial things, at one time in America, conventional agriculture was organic. With the rise of petroleum around the turn of the 20th century, came the rise of petroleum-based pesticides and herbicides. Agents which improved yield, but poisoned the soil, groundwater, river & streams, etc.
The diesel engine was created to run on bio-diesel, but bio-diesel was quickly replaced with cheaper petro-diesel. Like sustainable agriculture, bio-diesel was pushed aside in favor of petroleum-based products.