Roadmap to a greener farming future
7th Dec 2020
ORC welcomes Defra's roadmap for a transition to deliver a better, fairer farming system in England. We strongly support the participatory approach and are involved in three of Defra's Environmental Land Management 'Test and Trials'.…
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UK organic Control Bodies recognised by EU but uncertainty remains
4th Dec 2020
The EU Commission has approved a regulation to recognise all six of the UK organic Control Bodies as certifying to an equivalent EU standard until 31 December 2021, for the purpose of trade in organics.…
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We want to hear from you!
30th Nov 2020
Complete our survey and win a bottle of wine! At the ORC, we are always looking at ways to strengthen our communication and make sure you as a reader receive the most interesting and relevant…
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Impact of Flock Health Clubs
30th Nov 2020
New paper published in ‘Livestock Science’ this month. The article assesses how Flock Health Clubs improve farmer-vet relationships and measures of flock health & welfare. The paper's authors include ORC's Marion Johnson and Nicola Noble…
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Organic Research Centre builds on research focus with the appointment of Dr Will Simonson
5th Nov 2020
The Organic Research Centre (ORC) has announced the appointment of Dr Will Simonson as the new Head of Research. Dr Simonson replaces Dr Bruce Pearce, who stepped down from the role last month after 21…
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RABI extends support for farmers with new wellbeing initiative
20th Oct 2020
Charity’s evolving strategy aims to reach more farming people http://www.rabi.org.uk/kooth With 2020 bringing ever greater levels of uncertainty and unexpected changes, pressures on the farming community continue to grow. As part of a new package…
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Farewell to Bruce and Anja
1st Oct 2020
This week we sadly bid farewell to two long-serving members of our team - Bruce Pearce and Anja Vieweger - with more than thirty years of service between them! Dr Bruce Pearce joined Elm Farm…
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One year in, one year to go: Assessing Public Good delivery on farm
30th Sep 2020
ORC researchers and advisors are now at the halfway point of one of their Environmental Land Management scheme: Test &Trials (ELMs T&T). Led by the Soil Association, this project is looking at the capacity of…
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Calling all organic producers - write to your MP on mutual equivalence
25th Sep 2020
The NFU is calling all organic farmers and growers to write to their MP to express their concerns about securing mutual equivalence between UK and EU organic standards. This is following a letter written to…
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First open source detection test for a gene-edited GM crop
7th Sep 2020
Greenpeace, together with other non-governmental organisations, non-GMO food associations and a food retailer, announced that the first-ever public detection method for a gene-edited crop has been successfully developed and published. The new research refutes claims…
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Growing Beyond Monoculture
2nd Sep 2020
The DIVERSify project has produced a web series about various aspects of intercropping. Three episodes are now online covering the subjects of ecosystem services, tools and techniques, and innovation and gaps. Episode 1: from the…
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New US study on glyphosate and organic diets
12th Aug 2020
Glyphosate levels in children and adults drop dramatically after one week of eating organic.
Research breaks new ground in tracking. Roundup pesticide contamination in American families’ diets
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Tell us what you think. Enter to win!
12th Aug 2020
Agricology has been awarded a Defra ELM Test in partnership with the University of Reading to research how effective videos and podcasts are as tools to learn about farming practices. As part of this study…
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ORC welcomes the National Food Strategy
30th Jul 2020
'The first major review of our food system in 75 years' ORC welcomes the launch of the independent National Food Strategy, led by Henry Dimbleby, which was published on Monday (29th July 2020). We applaud…
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The future of organic farming and the environment
24th Jul 2020
This is a critical time for the future of organic farming in the UK; Brexit requires a new agricultural policy and environment grants are being fundamentally reformed. It is now widely recognised that there are…
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Plants and planting designs for organic poultry ranges
24th Jul 2020
The booklet, translated from the original Danish by Lindsay Whistance, as part of the OK-Net Ecofeed project, focuses on designing free-range areas for laying hens in order to: Increase the farmer's satisfaction in his/her work;Improve…
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Assessing the sustainability of sheep and goat farms in Europe
24th Jul 2020
The original Public Goods tool (PGT) was designed by ORC as an on-farm assessment tool for monitoring public good delivery and sustainable practices. It incorporated 11 themes representing holistic sustainability, with each theme containing a…
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Sustainable farming is vital for wildlife
22nd Jul 2020
Talk of rewilding and corridors for insects is all well and good, but what we do with our farmland is more important Mark Measures' (ORC Senior Adviser) letter addressing the need for integrating wildlife management…
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Agroforestry, Agroecology and Organic Farming in the Ag Bill
21st Jul 2020
Agriculture Bill debates on Agroecology, Agroforestry, Organic farming and Soil Health in the House of Lords The Agriculture Bill is currently going through the Committee Stage in the House of Lords. Debates on the 9th…
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Farming Opportunity
21st Jul 2020
The Perdix Partnership have a client who is looking to start a joint venture on his 800 acres farm in Warwickshire UK, it has been a arable farm intensively farmed for many years but he…
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Environmental Land Management: consultation reopens
3rd Jul 2020
Make your voice heard on Defra's new proposals for Environmental Land Management Defra have reopened the Environmental Land Management (ELM) Policy Discussion Document (PDD) on CitizenSpace. The PDD sets out Defra's initial thinking for ELM…
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Benefits and challenges of herbal or diverse leys
29th Jun 2020
Opportunities for farmer involvement
The importance of our local sheep breeds
26th Jun 2020
How do we encourage people to value heritage breeds?