We say a big thank you to Lucy MacLennan who leaves ORC after more than six years in post and has guided the organisation through some major changes.
Lucy joined ORC as CEO in January 2020 as we moved from Elm Farm to Trent Lodge in Cirencester and celebrated our 40th anniversary (See: Organic Research Centre starts 40th year at new headquarters). Under Lucy’s leadership ORC focused on strenthening its research agenda, prioritising key themes like agroforestry, crop diversity and agronomy, healthy and sustainable food systems, animal husbandry and business and markets. Alongside this she has supported and strengthened the dissemination of our research, highlighting the impact and legacy of our first 40 years and expanding the knowledge-sharing platform Agricology – a collaborative information hub for practical sustainable agriculture, regardless of labels. A major milestone was the integration of ORC into ADAS in September 2025, which provided shared resources and expanded research capacity while retaining ORC’s unique identity.
Lucy will continue in her role as Director of the Progressive Farming Trust, the charity which now runs the Dean Organic Fund and Agricology.
Lucy said: “I am incredibly proud of everything we have achieved at ORC over the past six years. It hasn’t always been plain sailing, but the commitment, care and professionalism of the team carried us through. Leading and working alongside such a dedicated, thoughtful group of people has been a real privilege. ADAS is the perfect place for ORC to flourish and grow from this strong, values‑led foundation into a brilliant future and I wish them every success.”
Dr Lizzie Sagoo, Associate Managing Director of the ADAS Sustainable Agricultural Systems Business and a Soil Scientist, will be stepping in as the new Head of ORC.
Lizzie said: “I would like to thank Lucy for her strategic leadership over the last six years steering ORC through some challenging times. I have enjoyed working with Lucy during the transition to ADAS, and we’ll continue to have a close working relationship with Lucy and the Agricology team at the Progressive Farming Trust. Now I am looking forward to working with the ORC team to build ORC as a centre of excellence for organic agricultural research, and to raise the organisation’s profile and influence across the agricultural and food sectors.”
