Category: Research

New paper from Agromix project suggests that silvoarable researchers should be focusing on how trees impact plant pathogen dynamics

AGROMIX project survey. Agroforestry experts needed to gather insights on climate change resilience in agroforestry systems.

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.

Review shows that addressing barriers to crop diversification by farmers requires a simultaneous and coordinated approach.

ReForest has launched! Agroforestry at the forefront of farming sustainability in multifunctional landscapes in Europe – a 4-year Horizon Europe project, bringing together 14 institutions from 10 European countries with extensive expertise in this field.

New Practice Abstract written by Katie Bliss and Mark Measures as part of the DiverIMPACTS project. Bliss K, Measures M (2022) Including diverse leys in arable rotations. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6241557 Problem Leguminous leys are a cornerstone…

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…

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.…

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%…

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 fifth European conference on agroforestry, EURAF 2020, was held online recently (17th - 19th May 2021) and ORC was represented by Colin Tosh, Will Simonson and Lindsay Whistance. This conference was postponed in 2020…

ORC's Ambrogio Costanzo is a guest co-editor of a forthcoming special issue of Agronomy entitled Organic Agriculture at the Heart of Agroecological Transition. The deadline for manuscript submissions is 15 September 2021. "Agroecological transition is…

A new INRAE led study has been published looking into a clear option space for expanding organic agriculture despite nitrogen limits. Recognising that one of the limits of widespread organic farming is the limited nitrogen…

What is your job role at the ORC? Sustainability Researcher How long have you worked at the ORC? Just over two and a half years Where are you from/ where are you based? I grew…

A new DIVERSify legacy website http://plant-teams.org/ has been launched. It includes the Farmer Guide ‘InfoHub’ “for practical information on intercropping agronomy, resilience and ecosystem service provision, on-farm experiences and innovations” and a Policy Toolbox that…

A new paper on our hedgerow work as part of the SustainFARM project has been accepted for publication in Agroforestry Systems and is now online: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10457-021-00631-9 Smith J, Westaway S, Mullender S. et al. (2021) Making…

A new paper arising from the EU Horizon 2020-funded iSAGE project, co-authored by ORC's Stefano Orsini has been published in Sustainability Abstract Given the increasing complexity of the agro-food sector, the analysis of financial performance…

New paper co-authored by ORC's Stefano Orsini is published in Animals. Given the decrease in red meat consumption in the last decade, it is crucial for red meat producers to understand consumer preferences. This international…

Opportunities for farmer involvement

How do we encourage people to value heritage breeds?

New Practice Abstracts and videos

Field lab featured on BBC Farming Today

Nature and soil health are flourishing at the National Trust’s organic farm

Survey as part of the Woodchip for fertile soils project