UK organic farming and growing. 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. Where are future supplies of organic livestock feed to come from? What are the relative merits of vaccination and homoeopathy in organic systems? How energy efficient is organic arable production? What is the latest thinking on the role of legumes for growers and farmers? One of the big themes running through the conference was the way in which “organic” has changed and what it means to producers today. Some questioned whether we have changed from a movement to a market or sector. How can we recapture some of the control, momentum and voice once associated with the “organic movement”?
