ORFC GLOBAL 2021

Transition Town Totnes have produced a free interactive toolkit to help others set up small-scale grain projects and learn from their experiences along the way. Hear from the founders of Grown in Totnes about some of the things to consider when setting up small-scale grain processing facilities and about the opportunities and pitfalls that you may encounter along the way. The workshop will demonstrate how to use the toolkit and touch on a range of…

We need land to provide its vital functions forever - to provide good food; capture, regulate and filter our water supplies; store carbon; sustain the living systems around us; and give us places to live in a way that is healthy for body and mind. Yet the mechanisms in place to create a sustainable landscape (grants, subsidies, market signals, regulations) are often short-term. And land tenure is rarely permanent. Join us to discuss the ways…

We all believe there is an urgent need to transform current food and farming systems; to ensure future generations have access to good food and enjoy good health throughout their lives; but what do young people think? What changes do they want to see and what questions would they put to the people shaping their future? This is our chance to find out.

Join Henry Dimbleby – leader of the National Food Strategy for…

Agroecology is knowledge intensive, not input intensive, but agricultural development over the last century has steadily undermined farmer knowledges by creating technological ‘lock-ins’ and ‘top down’ research models. This panel will gather perspectives from those who are resisting this trend by ‘hacking’ the current system for a more equitable and (bio)diverse food system. This includes networks of farmers doing trials on their own land, ‘Farm Hacks’ for building tools and skills to maximise farmer autonomy,…

Following on from the main talk in the Assembly Room, this informal session will continue the conversation around ‘Climate change and UK Horticulture: What is to come and how to build resilience. This will provide an opportunity to ask more questions, to share what people are doing in practice and to work together to come up with solutions to make us all more climate-ready.

Need finance? Then come and find out more about the Real Farming Trust’s‘ Loans for Enlightened Agriculture Programme’ (LEAP) which is funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, CIVA, the A Team Foundation, Power to Change and the Halleria Trust. LEAP provides affordable unsecured loans of £25,000 to £100,000 side-byside with a grant and a structured and tailored mentoring programme. Come with your questions, meet the people and organisations involved, and hear from businesses that have…

The UK’s climate and nature are in crisis. The State of Nature report found that 41 percent of species have declined, with changes in agricultural management being one of the main drivers behind this – and climate change will only further exacerbate these trends. A crisis requires a radical response, so the RSPB has written an ‘Emergency Plan for Nature’ including a host of policies that are urgently needed to reverse nature’s decline.

We…

WWOOF, which began in the UK, is now a worldwide movement with representation in 135 countries. Over 100,000 people benefit from the exchange each year. As we approach our half-century, we’re looking for ways to strengthen and further our role.

The session will be interactive with participants asked to help explore how WWOOF could evolve to meet current and future challenges. Questions we’ll consider include: How can we reimagine WWOOF? Should we build a larger,…

Farmers and landowners in England benefit from at least £2.4 billion a year in tax breaks – as much as they receive in farm subsidies. This session brings together researchers, politicians, campaigners and landowners’ representatives, to discuss these tax breaks and whether they are needed to support farming.

As the UK reforms the way it supports farming, moving away from area-based payments towards “public money for public goods”, the panel will debate whether these recently…