An impressive gathering of farmers, producers and advisers (over 180 in total) assembled at the Organic Research Centre Producer Conference 2009 at Harper Adams University in Shropshire – January 6th and 7th – to discuss a range of technical and policy matters
MEPs have voted in the European Parliament to tighten the EU rules on pesticide use…
A national campaign for Real Bread in the UK has been launched by the environment alliance Sustain, of which the Organic Research Centre (ORC) is a member
SA looks at light touch regime for growers.
Natural England promotes FREE advice service.
PAN report on shocking levels of pesticide residue in EU food.
Comment from ORC on idea of organic holidays
New EU organic road map.
Some batches of organic oats being sold in the UK have been found to contain one or both of the pesticide ingredients chlormequat and glyphosate
The eighth edition of the Organic Farm Management Handbook comes out in challenging times
New calls for limits on livestock antibiotic use.
The QE2 Conference Centre in Westminster (November 12th 2008) saw over 130 delegates and speakers in hot debate about the failure of GM crop technology to deliver anything on the promises of twenty years ago. In stark contrast speaker after speaker pointed to agro-ecological approaches (including organic agriculture) as extremely attractive sustainable farming and food options, especially in a world fast running out of oil.
The introduction of biofuels into the UK transport and industry sectors should be slowed down, says a new report from the Government’s Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA).
ORC Organic Animal Health Colloquium
Brazilian farmers and traders launch non-GM crop body
Fears of serious, long distance contamination of organic farms by GM crops appear top be borne out by an incident in central France
A big, new push is under way from bioscience companies to promote their GM crops on the back of global worries about food shortage and high prices. To arms, to arms, a new approach is needed from the organic sector to fight this move.
While farmland bird populations in South East England are generally tumbling (Defra reports a 21 per cent fall from 1994 to 2006) a real bird conservation success has been logged at one leading organic farm.
Vaccination against the spread of the Bluetongue virus (BTV-8) appears to be working in England
The world needs a new “fair food” agreement and more reliance on sustainable farming systems to meet the twin challenges of starvation and climate change. That was the central message from Defra Secretary of State Hilary Benn in a speech to the Fabian Society in London.
Anti organic speech from Sir David King – let them eat GM.
