Event Date : July 3, 2018
Liz Stockdale, head of farming research at NIAB and Joel Williams, independent soil health advisor are included in the speaker line up.
As usual ORC are involved in planning this event with intercropping, agroforestry, cereal populations and much more being demonstrated and on the agenda. The team from the Organic Research Centre will join the farm walk to talk about research projects including as the Liveseed, Diversify and CERERE.
Ten crop varieties are featured in direct comparison with each other in field length strips and will be looked at in detail as part of the farm walk that forms a major part of the programme on the day.
Mark Lea, host of NOCC 2018 is part of a network of seven farmers helping to test a new model for organic variety trials with ORC and Organic Arable. The farmers are each growing three of seven winter wheat varieties in different combinations to enable comparison between them. The enterprise is being funded in part by Liveseed, an EU project designed to try to boost organic seed and breeding across Europe. Mark has chosen to grow all seven varieties to help showcase the trial and to gain more insight on his farm. He will be discussing his involvement and experiences on the day.
Mark is also taking part in intercropping trials as part of the DIVERSify project. He is trialling different seed rate combinations of Spring Triticale and Peas and is also going to try undersowing fodder beet with clovers.
Mark has two or three fields of ORC Wakelyns Population wheat growing. Kimberley Bell of the Small Food Bakery, who are participating in the Grain Lab project being run by OF&G and Harper Adams University, will be baking with this as part of the lunch (she is planning on making pitta breads and there will also be cakes and pastries made using OWP flour in collaboration with Shelly Preston and her team from Ottar Chocolate).
Booking in advance is essential.
Trade stand and sponsorship opportunities are available.
More information and booking at http://ofgorganic.org/nocc-18-3-july-2018-shropshire/
