Category: News

Soil Association Certification’s Organic Market Report 2022 reveals the UK organic market is now worth a record £3.05 billion after a 5.2% growth in sales in 2021, with shoppers spending almost £60 million on organic…

Farmers who convert to organic will receive up to double the previous rates in a raft of government payment increases that are launching amid strong growth across the organic market. Payments for organic farming in…

This recently published manual contains 29 factsheets created within the POWER project (part of Horizon 2020, CORE Organic Co-fund project). The manual is split into chapters with the factsheets presented under four major themes. The…

Now in its 10th year, the Innovative Farmers network is celebrating the success of more than 120 field labs that have placed farmers in the driving seat of agricultural research, with the network connected with…

A survey of over 220 livestock farms (80% commercial) in the UK and Ireland has reported up to 69% reduction in antibiotic use, up to 70% reduction in vet costs, significant reduction in disease frequency…

How can agroforestry contribute towards biodiversity conservation? The Policy Brief, written by Colin Tosh, is based on evidence presented in, and feedback to the online workshop held 20/10/2021. The key findings were: Agroforestry increases farmland…

GM Freeze, ORC and twenty five other organisations have asked Defra not to allow the John Innes Centre to plant another open field trial of genetically modified wheat. Read the letter here

We are very pleased to announce that the third round of Dean Organic Fund (DOF) funding is now open, with up to £200,000 of interest-free loans available for small businesses. The Organic Research Centre (ORC)…

Beyond the Farmgate: Exploring Supply Chain Needs for Diverse Agroecological Systems https://youtu.be/YPrsgw3sSoU Oxford Real Farming Conference 2022 discussion with Katie Bliss, Julie Brown, Josiah Meldrum, James Woodward, George Young. Katie Bliss talks on DiverIMPACTS 'Enabling…

New paper published from the SustainFARM project team. A real team effort with Laurence Smith, Samantha Mullender, Sally Westaway and Jo Smith contributing authors from ORC. Smith LG, Westaway S, Mullender S,  Ghaley BH, Xu…

To round off our 40th anniversary year we have published an ebook celebrating our pioneer research in organic farming. This brings together all the Factsheets and Research Digests that we have put together over the…

https://youtu.be/2Lp8-zGh5vI How can agroforestry contribute towards climate change mitigation? Discussion hosted by the Organic Research Centre https://youtu.be/S9EOe0lD3ZY Workshop hosted by the Soil Association, featuring ORC's Dominic Amos See Full NFRC2021 Playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC0vTtYvEz3cDwihkTjAn8LJp1hFrbGRL

Searching for last minute Christmas presents for the organic farmer or grower in your life? We have found some ethical options from our friends and partners. Gift membership of the Organic Growers Alliance includes subscription…

A Christmas message from Lucy MacLennan for ORC's friends and supporters, including images from our 40th anniversary year.

The Farming Mental Health project run by the Universities of Reading, Sheffield, Exeter is seeking to understand the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on rural communities within the United Kingdom, specifically the farming community. Photo:…

Fundraising Manager (G7) REF: ADM2101 Salary range: £28,000 – £33,000 (FTE) per annum depending on experience The closing date for applications is 12 noon 17th December 2021. We are looking to appoint a Fundraising Manager (G7)…

On Thursday 11th November our Chief Executive Lucy MacLennan spoke at the Agri-Food Transition Summit at COP26, in the Climate Action Innovation Zone. The session was titled 'Transformational Agri Food systems: Reforming our systems to…

The Soil Association have just released a new short film Agroforestry in the Uplands which focuses on why trees and hedgerows on upland farms are good for livestock, the environment, biodiversity, soil health and the…

The second half of the farmer to farmer webinar programme is now live, and farm tours and advisory services have started as part of the Your Farming Future programme, a package of support offered by…

ORC's Senior Livestock Researcher Lindsay Whistance features on a fascinating recent Regenerative Agroforestry Podcast. Through Lindsay's extensive knowledge of silvopasture, she enables us to see agroforestry from the animal’s perspective. Trees can provide livestock with…

How can agroforestry contribute to the achievement of future targets and what policy environment can support it? We explored this question in a recent webinar (October 20th) with a panel representing the latest research, on-farm…

The LIVESEED project came to an end on 30 September 2021, after 52 months of activities. Started in June 2017, 51 project partners put their hearts and souls into boosting organic seed and plant breeding.…

Many assumed that with the banning of neonicotinoids in the EU and UK, bees and pollinators would now be safe from harms caused by pesticides. However, this view ignores the impacts that ongoing, widespread use…

This project, at the Department of Biology, University of York, is part of the NERC ACCE Doctoral Training Partnership. About the Project Agroforestry systems have the potential to play an important part in maintaining ecosystem…