Category: News and events

The Future Farming Resilience Programme, developed in partnership with the Landworkers' Alliance and the Pasture Fed Livestock Association, has launched with a programme of 20 webinars, designed to help farmers to identify what changes and…

The Agroforestry ELM Test is the principal project helping to structure post-Brexit Environmental Land Management (ELM) policy for agroforestry, and is led by the Organic Research Centre, with partners from the Woodland Trust, Soil Association,…

In this research, commissioned by CPRE, the countryside charity, and undertaken independently by the Organic Research Centre, we provide an evidence-based analysis of the environmental and economic benefits of hedgerows. The research investigates what 40%…

We’re pleased to be part of a successful collaborative bid to Defra's Future Farming Resilience Fund led by the Landworkers Alliance and partnering with the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association (PFLA). This fund aims to support farmers…

In October this year, national representatives will gather for the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15). During which they will work to review progress in the…

Horticultural Conference hosted by the Organic Growers Alliance The OGA has announced their second Organic Matters conference. The conference will be a day long event for experienced horticulturalists and new entrants based at Stretford Public…

Ambrogio Costanzo presenting at NOCC21. Photo: OF&G Now in its fourteenth year OF&G’s #NOCC21 was an amended version due to the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions still in place at the time. A full report…

Join the OGA in this webinar exploring field-scale production. How can we grow the basic crops efficiently yet regeneratively? About this event While many new entrants are being drawn into growing vegetables on a small,…

A new open access paper on our work on organic wheat variety trialling, arising out of the LIVESEED project, has been published in Agronomy for Sustainable Development. Cultivar choice and post-emergence weed management strategies are…

The National Food Strategy has called on the Government to commit to a historic package of reforms in order to build a better food system for a healthier nation. In a landmark report, food entrepreneur…

Would you like to get to know the ORC staff, learn more about what they are working on at the moment and find out what inspired them to pursue a career in organic research? To…

Building better local food systems to benefit society and nature This report from Sustain presents a vision for a revival in localised, nature-friendly food systems, supported by investment in infrastructure, skills and co-ordination, alongside policies…

'The State of Seed' survey results and report.  In Spring 2021 the Landworkers’ Alliance and the Gaia Foundation Seed Sovereignty Programme worked together to survey farmers and growers across the UK to gather the views…

Growing in soil is vital for the integrity of organic production. Join the OGA for this evening webinar reaffirming the importance of soil. This session will explore the reasons why soil is so important to…

A new report by IFOAM Organics Europe highlights the contribution of organic farming to protecting Europe’s biodiversity. The report recommends Member States to fully use Eco-schemes and agro-environmental measures in their CAP Strategic Plans to…

GM Freeze, the Organic Research Centre and twenty six other organisations came together to ask Defra not to allow Rothamsted Research to plant an open field trial of genetically modified wheat. Read the response hereDownload…

Crop diversification results in a fundamental change in activities: production, management, processing, crop sales and new relationships with the value chain all need to be re-assessed. The Organic Research Centre led an explorative study using…

The No-till with living mulches field lab was featured on BBC Radio 4's Farming Today programme on 29th June 2021. Listen to the feature with Rebecca Rooney talking to James Alexander, Mark Lea and Jamie…

Innovative Farmers field lab is bringing organic hop growers, breeders and brewers together with the Organic Research Centre to co-design practical on-farm research Brewers and hop merchants say demand for organic beer and locally-sourced ingredients…

And Bulletin 122 available for free download

A Defra-funded systematic review by a team of progressive UK farming and woodland advocacy organisations points the way to increased adoption of agroforestry by farmers post-Brexit. An influential new report written by researchers at the…

Appointments will bring senior experience in food policy, agricultural economics, rural policy and food retailing to ORC’s Board. The new appointments – Janet Dwyer, Honor May Eldridge and Jake Pickering – will bring a breadth…

What is your job role at the ORC? Business and Markets Researcher How long have you worked at the ORC? I started at the beginning of 2021 Where are you from/ where are you based?…

The UK could be opening the door to 119 pesticides banned for health and environmental reasons, warns a new report looking at implications of signing up to a Pacific free trade agreement. The deal with…