This week we say goodbye to the wonderful Sally Westaway. Sally has worked within the ORC’s agroforestry team on a range of projects since 2013. The last 7 years have been so much fun and…
ORC is pleased to be partners in two projects funded by Farming the Future's Year 2 Grant-pool. A National Network of Agroforestry Farms and Influencing Policy to Support Farm Woodland and Agroforestry from the Ground-up…
Oxfordshire organic farmer Philip Day, is conducting a survey of UK organic arable farmers, as part of his MSc in Organic Farming at SRUC, Aberdeen, to assess how they manage weeds in their crops. The…
Woodchip can increase soil organic matter, water holding capacity and nutrient levels of soils. Senior Agroforestry Researcher Sally Westaway reflects on the conclusions and outputs of the WOOdchip for Fertile Soils (WOOFS) project. Contractor spreading…
ORC welcomes the recognition by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) of the benefits of agroforestry with new guidance on how agroforestry can be compatible with the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). This is a major breakthrough…
Agroforestry webinar, led by the Soil Association, as part of the WRFFC Conference which was held from 16-19th Nov 2020. Speakers include Tim Pagella (Bangor University), Dr Lindsay Whistance (Organic Research Centre) and Gareth Davies…
ORC welcomes Defra's roadmap for a transition to deliver a better, fairer farming system in England. We strongly support the participatory approach and are involved in three of Defra's Environmental Land Management 'Test and Trials'.…
The EU Commission has approved a regulation to recognise all six of the UK organic Control Bodies as certifying to an equivalent EU standard until 31 December 2021, for the purpose of trade in organics.…
Complete our survey and win a bottle of wine! At the ORC, we are always looking at ways to strengthen our communication and make sure you as a reader receive the most interesting and relevant…
New paper published in ‘Livestock Science’ this month. The article assesses how Flock Health Clubs improve farmer-vet relationships and measures of flock health & welfare. The paper's authors include ORC's Marion Johnson and Nicola Noble…
The Organic Research Centre (ORC) has announced the appointment of Dr Will Simonson as the new Head of Research. Dr Simonson replaces Dr Bruce Pearce, who stepped down from the role last month after 21…
A unique postgraduate course in Organic Farming is celebrating its 20th year at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). The MSc programme, run in an online format since 2002, is delivered by SRUC in partnership with the…
It is with great excitement that OK-Net EcoFeed announces its final project conference bringing together 4 Horizon 2020 projects: OK-Net EcoFeed, PPILOW, Freebirds and POWER. Mark the 25th-26th of January 2021 in your calendar and…
Charity’s evolving strategy aims to reach more farming people http://www.rabi.org.uk/kooth With 2020 bringing ever greater levels of uncertainty and unexpected changes, pressures on the farming community continue to grow. As part of a new package…
Woodchip can increase soil organic matter, water holding capacity and nutrient levels of soils. At this online event, we’ll hear the latest from the Organic Research Centre trials, as well as from practitioners about the…
January 21st 2021 will see the release of an explosive new film 'This Good Earth' which exposes how we must urgently change the ways that we farm and eat – because the current ways are…
Virtual workshop run as part of the Northern Real Farming Conference. Hosted by the Organic Research Centre team. One of the key components of a transition to agroecological food and farming systems is the need…
This week we sadly bid farewell to two long-serving members of our team - Bruce Pearce and Anja Vieweger - with more than thirty years of service between them! Dr Bruce Pearce joined Elm Farm…
ORC researchers and advisors are now at the halfway point of one of their Environmental Land Management scheme: Test &Trials (ELMs T&T). Led by the Soil Association, this project is looking at the capacity of…
This online event organized by FiBL and BÖLW calls the attention of European processors, wholesalers and retailers to the importance of organic breeding for the future growth of the organic sector. During the seminar, representatives of…
The NFU is calling all organic farmers and growers to write to their MP to express their concerns about securing mutual equivalence between UK and EU organic standards. This is following a letter written to…
The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) has agreed a collaborative partnership with the Organic Research Centre in Cirencester (ORC) to expand industry links and research and teaching opportunities.
Greenpeace, together with other non-governmental organisations, non-GMO food associations and a food retailer, announced that the first-ever public detection method for a gene-edited crop has been successfully developed and published. The new research refutes claims…
Every Agricology Farmer Profile includes key advice from the field. In their updated profile, the Barbour Family share valuable lessons from years of experience with 🌳🐄#agroforestry and #silvopasture.
Philip Lymbery, CEO at @ciwf, stresses the need to make organic the default pathway for European farming. Our current food system is failing, and access to decent, healthy, sustainable food is a basic human right!
#OrganicSummit2025 #OS2025 #EUorganic2030 #EUorganic @philip_ciwf
“Decent food should be a human right”
It’s so important to recognise the urgency and that the “time is now” to transform our broken #foodsystems
We must build a healthy future for people, animals and our planet
@OrganicsEurope
#WeAreAllConnected
@CIWF_Global
Our last #YorkshireGrainAlliance film features Alexandra Vaughan who shared her passion for diverse grains and their impact on our food system. The film explores how different wheat varieties, textures, and flavors can create more resilient crops and more nutritious diets.
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