ORFC GLOBAL 2021

How can your farm produce good, sustainable food and have a social mission too? This session talks to two farmers from the United States who have embedded social justice into their farming practice. How do they address social inequalities, food access for low-income groups, access to land and capital, and farm worker rights in their communities? It will look at food and farming with intersectionality and gender lenses, and explore the redistribution of power in…

Over one-fifth of England’s SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) area and one third of our upland peat soils is common land. Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) must work at landscape scale with multiple interests to address the biodiversity crisis and climate emergency.

The Foundation for Common Land’s DEFRA ELM Test and Trial will start in early 2020 and will be piloting a Commons Proofing Scheme including collating spatial data to create a Commons Health…

Farm Carbon Cutting Toolkit (FCCT) are launching the new version of their Farm Carbon Calculator. Written by farmers for farmers, it allows users to understand in detail where emissions are produced within the business and the ability of the soils, trees and hedges on the farm to sequester carbon. Freshly updated and redesigned, the FCCT will showcase how the Calculator works and discuss how it can help with management decisions and provide a robust evidence…

Imagine you can go to market across half a millennium worth of world history. What would you buy? How would you prepare and serve it? Imagine that your choices would determine what we grow, buy, process, prepare and eat 500 years later. What would you choose? What would that depend upon?

We offer you an opportunity to take a place at the great table of time and to make choices which will shape today’s…

While the need for drought tolerance, and less reliance on chemical fertilisers and other costly inputs, is increasing the focus on regenerative farming systems which incorporate soil improvement, there’s some controversy about how best to achieve this. Some farmers argue that soil improving plants/crops such as herbal leys, green manures and cover crops can only be used in a diverse farming system that includes livestock in the rotation. However other farmers argue that livestock are…

Hosted by Robin Grey from the ‘Three Acres And A Cow’ land rights history show, come and end your conference with a rousing sing. Bring a ballad to share, or come along to listen and join in with old folk songs about land and farming.

Farming and Countryside Commission County Farms are vital to the future of farming, providing a route into agriculture for young and first-time farmers - yet over 16,000 acres of this publicly-owned land has been sold off since 2010. New research from NEF (New Economics Foundation), Shared Assets, Who Owns England and CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) reveals what’s happened to our County Farms - and how they can be revitalised to become beacons of…

This practical session will provide an opportunity to deepen your understanding of different methods of soil analysis and how to utilise the results to inform adaptation in management practices. Starting with a brief outline of the different soil analysis methods available, we will then have an open discussion and q and a to help you understand how you can enhance your soil with monitoring and exploring potential changes in management. Including the use of organic…