Last week ORC attended the Green Farm Collective Regenerative Agriculture Conference for the first time. The Green Farm Collective (GFC) was set up by Tim Parton and three other farmers, Angus Gowthorpe, Michael Kavanagh and great friend of ORC Jake Freestone. Together they are committed to regenerative practices and sharing knowledge.
We had the opportunity to chat with delegates, learning about their diverse approaches to farming. We talked about ORC and the principles of our work to new farmers discussing the common ground between organic and non-organic farming, such as reducing reliance on inputs and becoming more resilient to climate and financial changes.
In the morning, we introduced the Feed the Soil project which was met with great enthusiasm. ORC’s Catriona Willoughby kicked things off, eloquently outlining the foundational principles of the project, soil health and the critical role it plays in everything from crop vitality to carbon sequestration.
Then, Andrew Howard from Bockhanger Farms in Kent delved into the Liquid compost bio-stimulant field trial to look at how farmers can reduce N fertiliser usage with the Johnson-Su method. The data will be incorporated into the Feed The Soil project, and his insights into composting, cover cropping, and minimal disturbance tillage sparked a lively discussion.
Finally, Andrew Sincock discussed the broader implications of Bokashi and how and why it is being included as part of the project trails, emphasising we need to ‘make manures matter’ its potential to not only boost agricultural productivity but also to enhance biodiversity.
The ‘Feed the Soil‘ project is more than just an academic pursuit; it’s a project to support all farmers to have the right tools to upscale composting for their needs. You can read more about the project here.
The engagement and feedback we received all day long from the Green Farm Collective members were invaluable. The conversations on our projects with farmers provided fresh perspectives and raised awareness that the organic principles that steer our work is not just advice exclusive to organic farmers but could help the collective too.
A huge thank you to the Green Farm Collective for hosting us and to Catriona from ORC, Andrew Howard, and Andrew Sincock for being such fantastic co-presenters. The session recording will be made available soon, slides are available below.
