Category: News

A new book Regenerative Agriculture: Farming with Benefits by Marianne Landzettel is reviewed by ORC's Senior Agroforestry Researcher Colin Tosh. I approached the book with a few misgivings. The cover said ‘textbook’ while the text…

What is your job role at the ORC? Sustainability Researcher How long have you worked at the ORC? Just over two and a half years Where are you from/ where are you based? I grew…

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…

A new DIVERSify legacy website http://plant-teams.org/ has been launched. It includes the Farmer Guide ‘InfoHub’ “for practical information on intercropping agronomy, resilience and ecosystem service provision, on-farm experiences and innovations” and a Policy Toolbox that…

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…

And Bulletin 122 available for free download

An article by ORC's Head of Research Will Simonson has been included in the March/April edition of e-law, published by UKELA (United Kingdom Environmental Law Association) as part of an issue focusing on the Agriculture…

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…

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…

ORC submitted responses to Defra's Consultation on future of gene editing both as part of the English Organic Forum and as an organisation. As a member of the English Organic Forum (EOF), the Organic Research…

Mark Measures ponders some wheat 1995 Mark Measures has been at the forefront of organic farming in the UK for nearly 40 years and has been involved with Elm Farm/Organic Research Centre for most of…

The Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes represent a significant shift in agri-environment scheme delivery in England. Currently, it is envisaged that land managers will construct their own land management plans, possibly with some advisory support…

A new paper arising from the EU Horizon 2020-funded iSAGE project, co-authored by ORC's Stefano Orsini has been published in Sustainability Abstract Given the increasing complexity of the agro-food sector, the analysis of financial performance…

New paper co-authored by ORC's Stefano Orsini is published in Animals. Given the decrease in red meat consumption in the last decade, it is crucial for red meat producers to understand consumer preferences. This international…

For forty years the ORC has been pushing the boundaries of research and development of practical and sustainable organic farming methods in the UK. Last month we announced a dedicated 40th anniversary page had been…

Farmers in the UK, for the first time, are getting the chance to co-design research to determine the benefits of integrating more trees on their farms. A farmer-led agroforestry project launching this month will spend…

Are you interested in incorporating trees into your farm design? Agroforestry presents lots of opportunities for the organic grower: to grow new fruit and nut crops to sell; to produce wood and wood chip to…

Are you interested in alternatives to on-farm plastic, drought resilient pastures, or techniques to boost deeper burrowing earthworms? Innovative Farmers has created a series of interactive pages to showcase some of the latest farmer-led research.…

A joint letter signed by ORC asks retailers to refuse to stock products made from untested and unregulated genetically engineered plants and animals produced using a new technique called ‘gene editing’. Leaders from food, farming,…

New English Organic Forum (EOF) report presents a clear, consolidated and compelling case for organic farming. Produced as an organic industry-wide blueprint, Why organic – contributing productively to future farming and food policy sets out…

We are very pleased to welcome three new members to our team Colin Tosh joins us as Senior Agroforestry Researcher from the Centre for Behaviour and Evolution at Newcastle University where he was a lecturer…

Final episode in the DIVERSify web series goes live https://vimeo.com/491073274 As part of the EU Horizon 2020 research project DIVERSify, researchers have been working on investigating the viability of species mixture cropping as an alternative…

Eco-film-maker calls for prosecution of corporate polluters for crimes against humanity. Corporate chiefs whose companies knowingly poison the planet in pursuit of profit should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity says the award-winning director of…

Celebrate Seed Week with us Einkorn population We’re delighted that throughout this week, from 18th to 22nd of January, we celebrate The Gaia Foundation’s Seed Sovereignty Programme's fourth Seed Week. Through story, articles, videos and podcasts, Seed Week highlights the…