ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 500

Find out how grazing on the bioactive forages might be the answer to effective, reliable worm control – a crucial insight as anthelmintic resistance becomes an increasing issue for sheep farmers. We focus on research and trials exploring bioactive forages (heather, chicory and Lucerne), and nematophagus fungi.

With anthelmintic resistance becoming an increasing issue, and reducing reliance on contentious inputs an important goal, finding alternative worm controls has become a growing area of research.

In this session, we talk to researchers and farmers trialling alternative approaches to worm control, as part of the RELACS programme. Having ‘set the scene’ technically, looking at the current state of anthelmintic use, we go on to look in details at farm trials and research into replacements. Panellists share data from recent surveys, plus information on bioactive forages (such as heather, chicory, Lucerne) and nematophagus fungi.

We then open the floor for a Q&A session, and a chance for participants to ask questions and share their experiences and knowledge.

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 100 (Full)

Subtle but powerful, this workshop addresses the inevitable next big step in the evolution of sustainable agriculture. Grounded in the indigenous worldviews and experiences of farmers and food gathers over millennia, it explores how we can reclaim our co-creative relationship with nature through working with subtle energies in non-physical realms.

Julia Wright will chair this workshop and provide an introductory overview based on the forthcoming publication on this subject. Farmer practitioner Richard Gantlett will then discuss his experiences, successes and challenges in implementing some of the techniques on his 530 ha mixed farm in Wiltshire, UK. Land whisperer Patrick MacManaway will then discuss and provide examples of how farm livestock and crops are sensitive to the subtle energies of place and typically show improved health, vitality, fertility and productivity when in an appropriately balanced energetic environment.

Participants will then be led in a simple, practical exercise, after which experiences will be discussed in break out groups and a final coming together for discussion and questions. Signposts will be provided for those wishing to take this further. Through developing these skills, we may become more connected with the sentience of and one-ness with nature, and thus move further toward a practice of care.

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 500

Designing wine farming to mimic healthy ecosystems has created resilience to the vagaries of climate change, labour shortages and continuous increases in costs of production. Holistically designed vineyards function primarily off of solar energy by using adaptive grazing during any season. Soils remain covered throughout the year, tillage is eliminated, biodiversity and soil carbon can significantly increase while tractor use (fossil fuels), labor, water and fertility inputs can be reduced. These systems encourage reciprocity to other lives and are fun to manage.

This session will cover the principles and practices for designing, creating and managing vineyards that mimic nature. Time will be spent examining economics, grazing practices, vine training systems, management benefits and challenges, increasing biodiversity, building soil/ecosystem health and sequestering carbon. We will also briefly discuss creating similar systems in orchards and vegetable crops.

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 100 (Full)

In the United States, women are increasingly taking on decision-making roles in agriculture, and around the world, women’s empowerment in agriculture is a key tactic for supporting climate resilience and food security. American Farmland Trust and its partners around the United States have developed a variety of support structures for women in agriculture, including through facilitated peer-to-peer learning and networking. These programs create spaces for women in agriculture to share authentically about what they are experiencing in a white male-dominated field, support women in accessing resources, and help them realize their power to steward land successfully. But the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the way these services are offered, prompting practitioners to get creative with their use of online platforms.

During this session, leading practitioners will share their successes and lessons-learned making this shift in 2020, and discuss what it might mean for the future of support systems for women in agriculture in the United States.

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 120

Nature is a key stakeholder in any farm business, but how do you account for the assets it provides? Correct and supportive management of nature can actually improve the business bottom line. After significant research and analysis of over 80 farm businesses, Chris Clark and the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) team will lead you through this Maximum Sustainable Output (MSO) approach showing how nature is inextricably linked to your business and how these ’free assets’ can be maximised without detriment to the land and nature. New evidence will also be shared about ‘low to no management’ of nature scenarios and the possible consequences it may have on your business. Join Chris and NFFN at this interactive workshop on Nature Means Business to learn more.

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 12

The mainstream food system needs to be turned on its head and replaced with one that is good for growers, easy on the planet and great for all our futures. Join Better Food Traders for three train-the-trainer sessions and become an ambassador for Know Better Food, a peer-learning method that supports behaviour change for a better food system.

If you are a UK delegate who is part of a small ethical food business, these workshops are for you. They will help you with word-of-mouth marketing and customer loyalty and there’s freedom to make the approach your own.

You will learn engaging online facilitator techniques using Mural, Zoom, jamboards, thought maps, buddy framework and blob trees plus more…

There are only 12 spaces available, and participants must make sure they are available for all three 90-minute sessions at the same time on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 50

The conditions imposed by COVID-19 have acted as a magnifying glass on our societies and food systems, laying bare existing dysfunctions and inequalities but also sites of resilience. From the early months of the pandemic, we have seen an impressive response on the ground from food producers to retailers, communities and neighbours, who got food to where it was needed in immediate reaction to shock. Against the backdrop of longer-term problems locked into our food system, their adaptations emerge like desire lines – an urban planning phenomenon where collective bottom-up problem solving defies unhelpful structures – toward a resilient, sustainable and fair food system. As we face the task of ‘building back better’ in a new normal, now is the time to reflect and avoid blindly following the well-worn path to a place we don’t want to return to. What can we learn about resilience from the innovation and solidarity of those who hold the food system together amidst the chaos?

Using examples from across the UK to trace transformation across new behaviour, innovative logistics, material adaptation and fundamental values, this engaging workshop is for actors whose steps formed collective desire lines across the food landscape to learn together and reflect on the legacy of their initiatives.

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 55

This is a closed session for Black people & people of colour, including those from African & Asian diaspora, Latinx & indigenous peoples.

LION is part of a growing movement of Black people & people of colour (BPOC) returning to land work, addressing issues of food inequalities and disconnect from nature. In this session we invite ORFC BPOC attendees to discuss two intertwined threads of repair: of the land and of ourselves. How do we approach the task of reparations in holistic and nourishing ways? LION members will reflect on our own learnings from the past year, from the BPOC caucus held as part of the ORFC last year in the UK to the latest iteration of the Black Lives Matter movement.

ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED. LIMITED SPACES: 500

Community seed initiatives such as libraries, banks, and swaps are popping up all around the UK - and some have been leading the way for years. As the momentum grows, let's take an opportunity to come together and share experiences, pitfalls, and opportunities; find out what has worked (and not worked at all!) for other groups, and how we can ensure that our community seed is as diverse and resilient as it can be.

Joined by the London Freedom Seed Bank, Lampeter Seed Library, European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity and others, The Gaia Foundation’s Seed Sovereignty Programme looks forward to hearing from community initiatives across the UK on how it can best support them in the future. This is a space for communities who are in the process of setting up seed work to learn from groups who have paved the way, and an opportunity for groups to form connections and support each other.