Category: News

Farmers in the UK, for the first time, are getting the chance to co-design research to determine the benefits of integrating more trees on their farms. A farmer-led agroforestry project launching this month will spend…

Are you interested in incorporating trees into your farm design? Agroforestry presents lots of opportunities for the organic grower: to grow new fruit and nut crops to sell; to produce wood and wood chip to…

Are you interested in alternatives to on-farm plastic, drought resilient pastures, or techniques to boost deeper burrowing earthworms? Innovative Farmers has created a series of interactive pages to showcase some of the latest farmer-led research.…

A joint letter signed by ORC asks retailers to refuse to stock products made from untested and unregulated genetically engineered plants and animals produced using a new technique called ‘gene editing’. Leaders from food, farming,…

New English Organic Forum (EOF) report presents a clear, consolidated and compelling case for organic farming. Produced as an organic industry-wide blueprint, Why organic – contributing productively to future farming and food policy sets out…

We are very pleased to welcome three new members to our team Colin Tosh joins us as Senior Agroforestry Researcher from the Centre for Behaviour and Evolution at Newcastle University where he was a lecturer…

Final episode in the DIVERSify web series goes live https://vimeo.com/491073274 As part of the EU Horizon 2020 research project DIVERSify, researchers have been working on investigating the viability of species mixture cropping as an alternative…

Eco-film-maker calls for prosecution of corporate polluters for crimes against humanity. Corporate chiefs whose companies knowingly poison the planet in pursuit of profit should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity says the award-winning director of…

Celebrate Seed Week with us Einkorn population We’re delighted that throughout this week, from 18th to 22nd of January, we celebrate The Gaia Foundation’s Seed Sovereignty Programme's fourth Seed Week. Through story, articles, videos and podcasts, Seed Week highlights the…

Our Senior Livestock Researcher Lindsay Whistance wrestles with the arguments for and against Veganuary in this blog On Boxing Day evening, at the slowing down of festive indulgences, I began to speculate about what should…

A new survey led by ORC hopes that through improving understanding of the impact of crop diversification on workload and quality of life we can provide recommendations for policy makers, training and education providers and…

As the dust settles on the huge global phenomenon that was the 12th Oxford Real Farming Conference we highlight on some of the sessions ORC were involved with (directly or indirectly). All sessions were recorded…

On the 8th January a request by British Sugar and the NFU to get an emergency derogation to use neonicotinoids in sugar beet was approved. Given the evidence of unacceptable harm to wildlife (especially bees)…

ORC welcomes the launch of the Terra Carta from HRH The Prince of Wales’ Sustainable Markets Initiative. The Terra Carta provides a roadmap to 2030 for businesses to move towards an ambitious and sustainable future;…

Is it a realistic option? We are interested in your views If we want to develop more sustainable agricultural systems for the UK then we need to focus on their sustainability, their impact on the…

Today (January 11th 2021), RABI launches the largest ever research project relating to wellbeing of farming people. This wide-ranging survey will consider for the first time the relationship between physical health, mental wellbeing and health…

Plans to consult on gene editing, which according to Defra 'could unlock substantial benefits to nature, the environment and help farmers with crops resistant to pests, disease or extreme weather and to produce healthier, more…

This report led by the Organic Policy, Business and Research Consultancy, with ORC, SRUC and IEEP on the future public good agricultural policy options for Scotland including organic farming, agroforestry and rewilding has now been…

This week we say goodbye to the wonderful Sally Westaway. Sally has worked within the ORC’s agroforestry team on a range of projects since 2013. The last 7 years have been so much fun and…

ORC is pleased to be partners in two projects funded by Farming the Future's Year 2 Grant-pool. A National Network of Agroforestry Farms and Influencing Policy to Support Farm Woodland and Agroforestry from the Ground-up…

Oxfordshire organic farmer Philip Day, is conducting a survey of UK organic arable farmers, as part of his MSc in Organic Farming at SRUC, Aberdeen, to assess how they manage weeds in their crops.  The…

https://youtu.be/tuNQK77SROg Our Chief Executive Officer Lucy MacLennan with a Christmas message for our friends and supporters

Woodchip can increase soil organic matter, water holding capacity and nutrient levels of soils. Senior Agroforestry Researcher Sally Westaway reflects on the conclusions and outputs of the WOOdchip for Fertile Soils (WOOFS) project. Contractor spreading…

ORC welcomes the recognition by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) of the benefits of agroforestry with new guidance on how agroforestry can be compatible with the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). This is a major breakthrough…