Dr Nic Lampkin, PhD Agricultural Economics
Nic Lampkin trained as an agricultural economist at Aberystwyth University and has been researching economic and policy as well as other aspects of organic farming since 1983. He published the best-selling textbook on Organic Farming in 1990 and with Susanne Padel edited the first book on the Economics of Organic Farming in 1994. In that year he also completed his PhD thesis on the economics of converting to organic farming that year and with Mark Measures published the first edition of the Organic Farm Management Handbook. Together with Susanne Padel they have provided the technical expertise necessary for the creation of all 12 editions, over the last 30 years.
He was founder/director of Organic Centre Wales from 2000-2009 and of the Organic Research Centre from 2009-2019. Nic has undertaken work for government agencies in England, Wales, Scotland, Germany, New Zealand and the European Commission. He also served as a full member of the European Commission’s Expert Group on Technical Aspects of Organic Production, from 2011-2017, contributing to the setting of legal standards for organic farming in the EU.
Since 2019, he has been working on organic farming policy in the EU at the Thünen Institute in Germany.
Mark Measures, BSc. Hons, Agric., FRAgS., IOTA Accredited.
Mark is a farmer’s son from Dorset. A conventional farm manager turned organic grower in the 1970s, he joined The Organic Research Centre (ORC) as farm manager in 1983. He set up the ORC Organic Advisory Service and headed it for 15 years before establishing and running the Institute of Organic Training and Advice for 10 years. He was also instrumental in the establishment and initial management of the Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative (now Organic Herd). Mark has travelled widely in his work and is director of an education and conservation trust operating an estancia in Argentina and was a visiting lecturer in organic farming at Scotland’s Rural College. In 2018 Mark completed a Winston Churchill Fellowship studying soil management in the US and Europe. More here.
Mark is now an independent organic agriculture consultant specialising in provision of on-farm advice and training in farm business management, soil, crop and animal husbandry and conversion planning. He has provided policy advice to Government and has been involved in many research projects, providing technical advice and dissemination. He is a partner in a 150-acre organic mixed farm in the Shropshire Hills producing beef and lamb for local and other markets.
Mark has been editor of the Organic Farm Management Handbook since its inception in 1994, when the need to provide sound financial information for the development of organic farm businesses became essential and there was the opportunity for collaboration with Nic Lampkin at Aberystwyth University in its production.
See also: Mark Measures is retiring from ORC
Dr Susanne Padel, PhD. Agricultural Economics
Susanne worked as a consultant for farmers interested in organic farming in North Germany before becoming a Research Associate at Aberystwyth University. She worked for ten years for the ORC as a senior researcher/programme manager, followed by a move to Germany and part-time work as a researcher in the Thünen Institute for Farm Economics on a project about women on farms. She now works part-time as a consultant on business and policy issues and continues her engagement in the organic sector in the UK and in Europe.
Susanne has much experience in working with various socio-economic aspects of the organic sector, both in the UK and in Europe. Her research experience includes projects related to organic market data, market development, supply chains, organic conversion and whole farm planning, farm management, the regulatory regime and support policy development. Susanne has led a Defra study on UK organic regulation options post Brexit and a study for the Land Use Policy Group on transition to Agroecology. She worked on numerous EU funded projects (including case studies of supply chains in the EU funded DIVERSIFOOD) and was involved in several external studies for the DG AGRI including on value added in organic supply chains and the EU Organic Regulation. Susanne also was a member of the first board overseeing the establishment of Agricology and is a tutor on the SRUC programme MSc/PG Dip Organic Farming.
Susanne has contributed to the Organic Farm Management Handbook from the start and has been a co-editor for the last 8 editions.