Events

Please check this page to view organic events organised through recognised UK bodies such as Organic Farmers & Growers, Organic Centre Wales, Scottish Agricultural College and Duchy College in Cornwall.

Soil Association Annual Conference (Feb 2012)  

If you missed the annual Soil Association Conference in February but would like to know what went on, find out more about the conference speakers etc... http://www.soilassociation.org/conference

Coming Up:

22 - 23 January 2013

Organic Research Centre - 2013 Organic Producers' Conference

Location: Lakeside Centre, Aston University, Birmingham

Making producer-led innovation a reality

ORC’s annual Organic Producers’ Conference is the event where organic and other producers interested in ecological approaches to sustainable food production come together with researchers and advisers to share ideas on making agriculture perform better, for businesses and society

This year, with innovation the buzz word, we challenge the idea that technological innovation is only about patentable products such as GM crops and high tech inputs. Innovation is also about how we work with ecological knowledge to design self-reliant production systems, less dependent on external inputs and more resilient to shocks when the availability of those inputs is restricted.

We challenge the notion that valid research is only carried out in academic ivory towers and large corporations. We see huge potential in supporting producers to explore their own creative ideas, through a participatory approach to innovation, where researchers and advisers facilitate rather than dominate the process.

This conference provides the opportunity to hear about and debate new ideas that are already being investigated, as well as to get together with like-minded people to develop new ideas for projects to help you move forward.

For further information click here

7 March 2013

Farm Walk: Euridge Manor Farm - Wiltshire

Time: 16.30 - 19.30

Host: Jon Perkin,

Location:  Euridge Manor Farm, Thickwood, Chippenham, SN14 8BJ Wiltshire

Farm Walk at Euridge Manor Farm - Background to the farm
950 acres of Beef,sheep,arable,woodland,wood chip boiler, solar panels. Plans for Agro forestry 250 - 300 acres of arable, mainly spring barley & rye. Suckler herd of 60 Herefords, progeny finished as fat. 500 late lambing ewes, Sullfolk Mule, Lleyn and Dorset Down. Wood chip boiler used to heat houses, solar panels for electricity. Current unconfirmed projects for the future include, SA / Duchy field trials of spring barley to investigate the impact of yield and soil analysis when grown under Natural Agricultural techniques. This may be coupled with Agro Forestry trials, growing short rotational coppice for the wood chip boiler or fruit for processing. Mobile cattle and sheep handling systems available for inspection. On farm FEC undertaken.  

Attendance is free but advanced booking is absolutely essential.  For further information please click here or contact the Soil Association via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like to book some places. 

9 May 2013

Farm Walk: Hammonds End Farm, Hertfordshire

Time: 16:30 -  19:30

Farm Background: 300 acres of beef and arable. The main focus of our farming operation is the production and processing of cereals. We have developed a growing market supplying organic cereals to artisan mills and bakers across the whole of England and Wales. Alongside our cereal enterprises,we are also developing a small scale beef herd which we aim to market directly to local restaurants. For more information on Hammonds End Farm, please visit www.hammondsend.co.uk

Attendance is free but advanced booking is absolutely essential. For further information please click here  or contact the Soil Association via email at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to book your place.

17 May 2013

Farm Walk: Courtyard Farm, Norfolk

Time:  16:30 - 19:30

Courtyard Farm aims to combine profitable farming with providing an environment where native wildlife can thrive, and public access is encouraged. For wildlife, this means building up a healthy, living soil to benefit insects and native plants which, in turn, attracts birds and mammals. With an organic system, it is possible to marry the farm's objectives of providing crops and meat for food without artificial pesticides or fertilisers, while providing an ideal habitat for wildlife. The farm is also an enjoyable, and safe, place to visit. The farm finished converting to organic in 2000, and meets the highest, Soil Association organic standards. Peter Melchett, a director of the farm, is well-known for his environmental campaigning work at Greenpeace in the 1980s and 90s, and is currently Policy Director for the Soil Association, the main UK organic body. Organic farms also employ more people than intensive farms (in Eastern England, for non-organic farms this can mean less than one farm worker per 1000 acres). Courtyard Farm employs 2 full-time staff, and with regular part-time workers this provides the equivalent of three full -time jobs, on 890 acres.

Livestock
Our herd of Norfolk Red Poll cattle spend the summer months grazing on the wild flower meadows and clover fields at the farm and on the farm's grazing marshes at Holme. In winter they are kept in an airy cattle building where they are fed on silage made from clover, and haylage from the grass and wild flower fields. They have no additional grain and protein feed. Meat from slow-growing, grass-fed cattle has improved flavour, and healthier nutrients and fat.Organic animals stay with their mothers longer than non-organic (whether 'outdoor', 'free-range' or intensive) Our organic animals grow more slowly, eat natural diets, can always move around freely, and live in settled family groups to minimise stress.For most of the year, the cattle can be seen from the public footpaths on the farm.

Crops
Wheat, barley, vetch and peas, and red and white clover are the main crops grown in the six-year rotation at Courtyard Farm. The wheat, barley, peas, white clover and vetch are grown for use as seed by other organic farmers, demanding very clean fields and high quality grain. Clover is essential in an organic system for putting nutrients back into the soil without using artificial Nitrogen fertilisers, made from fossil fuels. The energy from sunlight allows clovers (and crops like peas and vetch, also grown at Courtyard) to fix Nitrogen in their roots, which is vital for growing crops. After growing under a wheat crop for one year, the clover remains undisturbed for two more years, to maximise Nitrogen fixing. The clover fields are cut for silage (to feed the cattle in winter) and grazed by young cattle in summer. Manure from the cattle also adds some fertility to the soil, mainly in form of Phosphorus and Potassium, the other two elements vital for growing crops. To find out more about the farm, please visit http://www.courtyardfarm.co.uk/

Farm Walk focus
Although we do have some beef cattle,most of them will be on a grazing marsh on the coast about 2 miles from the farm and will not be visible. The main focus of the walk will therefore be on growing wheat, barley, peas, vetch and white clover, all of which are being produced for seed.

Booking your place
Attendance is free but advanced booking is absolutely essential. For further information please click here or contact the Soil Association via email at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to book your place.