Assessing the multidimensional elements of sustainability in European agroforestry systems
13th Jan 2022
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…
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LIVESEED project comes to an end after 52 months
28th Oct 2021
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.…
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Boosting hedgerows by 40% would create 25,000 jobs, new ORC research for CPRE reveals
6th Sep 2021
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%…
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New paper on farm network field-scale, cultivar evaluation of organic wheat
23rd Jul 2021
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…
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Agroforestry for the transition towards sustainability and bioeconomy
3rd Jun 2021
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…
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Organic Agriculture at the Heart of Agroecological Transition - call for submissions
27th May 2021
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…
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A clear option space for expanding organic agriculture despite nitrogen limits - new INRAE led study
27th May 2021
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…
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Ten minutes with Lisa Arguile
22nd Apr 2021
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…
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InfoHub on intercropping launched
20th Apr 2021
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…
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Making hedgerows pay their way: the economics of harvesting field boundary hedges for bioenergy
20th Apr 2021
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…
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