Supply Chain Perspectives on Breeding for Legume–Cereal Intercrops
The widespread adoption of intercroping will only succeed through the collaboration of all supply chain actors, breeding approaches that take into account the complexity of the supply chains, and implementation of diversification strategies in every process from field to fork.
Overcoming barriers to crop diversification uptake in Europe: A mini review
Review shows that addressing barriers to crop diversification by farmers requires a simultaneous and coordinated approach.
Organic arable crop yield survey
Please help us improve the reliability of the Organic Farm Management Handbook data by supplying your arable crop results from last harvest.
Research Webinar: Diversifying our approach to cereal breeding with plant populations
Watch this ORC webinar for an overview of current research on plant populations, what this approach can offer, what we still need to understand and how we might get policy-makers to support wider use of such genetically diverse cereals.
Farewell and thanks to Roger Kerr
North of England Agroforestry Living Lab
The Organic Research Centre and the EU Horizon Europe-funded REFOREST project are looking for agroforestry farmers and stakeholders to be part of the North of England Living Lab.
Scientific study shows synthetic pesticides significantly more dangerous than natural ones
More organic farming means less pesticide use and risk
European organic farmland and market continued to grow in 2021
Increasing by almost 4%, the European organic market reached another high in 2021: 54.5 billion euros. Organic farmland expanded by almost 0.8 m ha.
Organic Hop Varieties field lab two year report
The Second year of results from the organic hops field lab are now available to read. This field lab aims to help organic and low-input hop growers find suitable varieties of hops for organic farming.
Organic market delivers strong performance in exceptionally challenging year
UK organic market shows positive and robust growth of 1.6% in 2022 topping £3.1 billion in an unprecedented and challenging year for business and consumers
Study on the environmental impacts of achieving 25% organic land in the EU by 2030 published
The study shows that achieving the EU 25% organic farming by 2030 target could make a big difference to the environmental impacts of agriculture.
Conversation beneath the trees
Conversation Beneath The Trees is a podcast bringing together scientists, farmers and innovators from all around Ireland to share their ideas and experiences of farming with trees.
Regen Action
In the 3rd week of January, Regen Action took place in London. Kathrin Heimbach reports on the discussions.
Living mulches: get involved!
Would you like to be involved in an on-farm field trial exploring living mulches: direct drilling cash crops into (semi)-permanent established stands of clover?
Yorkshire Grain Changers unite!
ORC, through the Organic at the Heart project, helped to deliver the Grain Changers event in York on the 23rd October 2022.
Reducing artificial inputs
At this years Agronomists’ Conference on December 6th ORC’s Henny Lowth gave a presentation on ‘Reducing artificial inputs’ which covered ORC’s work on living mulches in the Innovative Farmers field lab sponsored by AHDB, and the LiveWheat project.
Silvopasture benefits for livestock
This Farm Wilder webinar looked at the many benefits trees can bring to livestock systems, with ORC’s Lindsay Whistance
URGENT: Stop the attack on children’s health
Do you want Government to delay laws to protect your children from junk food advertising by almost three years? We don’t.
Season’s greetings from ORC
The ORC team would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and thank you to everyone that has supported us over the last twelve months, a year that has been very productive for ORC.
Trees on Farms: Podcast mini-series
Check out the Trees on Farms podcast mini series from Meet the Farmers – a weekly show that profiles people in the countryside and gives you an insight into food and farming.
Peach Hayne organic Christmas trees
Peach Hayne Organics, is UK’s only organic certified Christmas tree farm and family-run in the heart of Devon.
Silvopasture: Benefits For Livestock
Free webinar on Dec 14 at 7pm organised by Farm Wilder, with funding from Devon County Council, will be led by ORC’s Lindsay Whistance “who has been pivotal in generating the recent upsurge in interest around silvopasture.”
Agroforestry Carbon Code project webinar recording
Watch the webinar introducing the Agroforestry Carbon Code project with Soil Association, Woodland Trust, Organic Research Centre. Features ORC’s Will Simonson and Colin Tosh
Organic: Leading the way in a world of sustainability
Soil Association Certification held its annual Organic Trade Conference in October. The line-up featured keynote speaker, Professor Dave Goulson, alongside research experts at The Crow Flies, as well as the latest UK organic market figures from NielsenIQ and many other top industry experts.