40 years of ORC: Pioneering research in #40rganic farming
21st Dec 2021
To round off our 40th anniversary year we have published an ebook celebrating our pioneer research in organic farming. This brings together all the Factsheets and Research Digests that we have put together over the…
Posted in News, News and events
Read More
ORC at the Northern Real Farming Conference
16th Dec 2021
https://youtu.be/2Lp8-zGh5vI How can agroforestry contribute towards climate change mitigation? Discussion hosted by the Organic Research Centre https://youtu.be/S9EOe0lD3ZY Workshop hosted by the Soil Association, featuring ORC's Dominic Amos See Full NFRC2021 Playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC0vTtYvEz3cDwihkTjAn8LJp1hFrbGRL
Posted in News, News and events
Read More
Temperate Tree Fodder - Virtual Seminar
11th Nov 2021
From 10am to 4:30pm Eastern Time (US) Virtual via Zoom *Free registration, with a suggested $30 - 50 donation to benefit the Community Solidarity Agroforestry Fund from Silver Run Forest Farm This event will explore…
Posted in Events, News and events
Read More
Agroforestry in the Uplands - a new short film
5th Nov 2021
The Soil Association have just released a new short film Agroforestry in the Uplands which focuses on why trees and hedgerows on upland farms are good for livestock, the environment, biodiversity, soil health and the…
Posted in News, News and events
Read More
Podcast: How trees can increase livestock's welfare and productivity
2nd Nov 2021
ORC's Senior Livestock Researcher Lindsay Whistance features on a fascinating recent Regenerative Agroforestry Podcast. Through Lindsay's extensive knowledge of silvopasture, she enables us to see agroforestry from the animal’s perspective. Trees can provide livestock with…
Posted in News, News and events
Read More
How can agroforestry contribute towards biodiversity conservation?
29th Oct 2021
How can agroforestry contribute to the achievement of future targets and what policy environment can support it? We explored this question in a recent webinar (October 20th) with a panel representing the latest research, on-farm…
Posted in News, News and events
Read More
How to source and use woodchip for the farm and garden: A talk and Q&A with Ben Raskin
28th Oct 2021
Join Ben Raskin, author of the new book The Woodchip Handbook, for this webinar to learn about the many uses of woodchip both in regenerative agriculture and horticulture. Ben is Head of Horticulture and Agroforestry…
Posted in Events, News and events
Read More
Countryfile: Devon silvopasture trial
28th Oct 2021
BBC One's flagship country lifestyle magazine Countryfile will feature the Devon silvopasture research that is planned to last for 12 years and which involves a group of livestock farmers trialling three different silvopasture designs created…
Posted in Events, News and events
Read More
2nd Climate-smart and resilient farming webinar: let's talk about Resilience in Agricultural Landscapes!
27th Oct 2021
On 10th of November 2021 the three research projects funded under the EU Horizon 2020 call on climate-smart and resilient farming (LC-SFS-19-2018-2019): MIXED, STARGATE, and AGROMIX will meet again to discuss about Resilience in Agricultural…
Posted in Events, News and events
Read More
Northern Real Farming Conference
26th Oct 2021
Conference: 17-24 November, online or local events Gathering: 2-3 December in-person in Lancaster Highlights with ORC involvement include: Nov 17 2021: 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm GMT Webinar Organic no-till with living mulches – the…
Posted in Events, News and events
Read More
PhD opportunity. Tree species choice in agroforestry systems: do mycorrhizal associations affect soil microbiomes and crop yields?
26th Oct 2021
This project, at the Department of Biology, University of York, is part of the NERC ACCE Doctoral Training Partnership. About the Project Agroforestry systems have the potential to play an important part in maintaining ecosystem…
Posted in News, News and events
Read More
40 years of industry-leading organic research celebrated
11th Oct 2021
Originally established as the Elm Farm Research Centre in 1981, over the last forty years the organisation has delivered pioneering research that has helped transform the organic sector in the UK and beyond. During this…
Posted in News, News and events
Read More
NEW REPORT: The Promise of Agroforestry (LWA)
4th Oct 2021
The Landworkers' Alliance have released a new report which takes a close look at eight different agroforestry projects in the UK, highlighting the benefits of these agroforestry systems as well as teasing out some the lessons…
Posted in News, News and events
Read More
Defra-funded workshops to structure ELM policy for agroforestry – come and have your say
15th Sep 2021
The Agroforestry ELM Test is the principal project helping to structure post-Brexit Environmental Land Management (ELM) policy for agroforestry, and is led by the Organic Research Centre, with partners from the Woodland Trust, Soil Association,…
Posted in Events
Read More
How can agroforestry contribute towards biodiversity conservation?
20th Aug 2021
In October this year, national representatives will gather for the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15). During which they will work to review progress in the…
Posted in Events, News and events
Read More
New report explains why UK farmers still aren’t planting trees on their land
29th Jun 2021
A Defra-funded systematic review by a team of progressive UK farming and woodland advocacy organisations points the way to increased adoption of agroforestry by farmers post-Brexit. An influential new report written by researchers at the…
Read More
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…
Read More
Agroforestry Design Masterclass (2 Day Intensive)
11th May 2021
Looking to integrate trees into your farming business this coming planting season but don’t know which trees to plant, how many, or where? Unsure about fencing, or how to market your tree products? Discover the…
Posted in Events, News and events
Read More
Silvopasture field lab on Farming Today
22nd Apr 2021
BBC Farming Today visited Andy Gray one of the farmers participating in the new Innovative Farmers Silvopasture field lab. " A field lab being run by Innovative Farmers - a not-for-profit group which links up…
Posted in News, News and events
Read More
Farm Woodland Forum 2021 annual meeting: Agroforestry in Brexit landscapes
20th Apr 2021
In the light of the UK government's ambitious tree planting targets - what is the role for agroforestry? Draft agenda: Role of agroforestry and hedges in UK climate targetsDefra’s agroforestry vision, response to tree strategy…
Posted in Events, News and events
Read More
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…
Read More
New paper on managing understoreys in agroforestry to promote natural enemies
31st Mar 2021
A new open access paper 'Management to Promote Flowering Understoreys Benefits Natural Enemy Diversity, Aphid Suppression and Income in an Agroforestry System,' co-authored by Jo Smith (now ex ORC) with the University of Reading and…
Posted in News, News and events
Read More
Ten minutes with Colin Tosh
29th Mar 2021
Would you like to get to know the ORC staff, learn more about what they are working on at the moment and find out what inspired them to pursue a career in organic research? To…
Read More