National Organic Conference highlights new pathway
for sector growth
8th August 2024
We want to thank everybody who came; all the delegates, speakers, traders, farm advisors, and a very big thank you to our caterer, the brilliant Aimee Collins of the Michelin listed restaurant, Five Little Pigs.
And our huge thanks to our conference chair this year, an organic farmer who is also a broadcast journalist, the brilliant Sarah Dickins.
Sarah was very much equal to the task of chairing a morning conference session that covered a lot of key agronomic and market detail, and that carried some very robust debate and brilliant personal insight.
And a very big thank you to Tim May and his family for hosting us this year. Kingsclere Estates is a superb example of a successful farm business, enhancing natural capital whilst also providing many with a good livelihood.
Plans are afoot as we pull together details for the National Organic Conference 2025. Watch this space.
Here is our first report on the 2024 NOC.
National Organic Conference highlights new pathway for sector growth
Held on Tim May’s 2,500 acre organic farm, Kingsclere Estates in Hampshire, OF&G’s 17th annual National Organic Conference (NOC) prompted lively debate over current farming challenges, as well as longer term opportunities for the UK organic sector.
The conference speaker sessions began with event organiser OF&G’s (Organic Farmers and Growers) chief executive, Roger Kerr highlighting how the agricultural landscape is evolving as more farmers adopt regenerative practices.
Setting out five priority communications for the organic movement, Mr Kerr encouraged the audience of farmers and stakeholders to recognise the position of organic as the gold standard for regenerative farming and to work collaboratively to deliver greater unity and growth.
“We believe there is power in organic as a system to drive real change - that’s what we need to promote. To deliver the critical mass that underwrites the sector’s market positioning and role it plays in supporting both the environment and rural economies, we must galvanise our efforts,” said Mr Kerr.
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Natural capital
The role of technology and a science-led approach plays an increasingly important role in all farming systems. To augment organic’s position in the market, Mr Kerr outlined how the adoption of innovative solutions within the natural capital space, which provide data-driven impact assessments can quantify the beneficial outcomes delivered by organic systems.
Technology developments were further explored by Oliver Rubinstein from Trinity AgTech, who provided insight into the role of environmental benchmarking in quantifying a farm’s natural capital in order to promote organic’s unique strengths. Arable practices such as cover cropping, minimal soil disturbance, and diverse crop rotations mean many organic farms are excelling in carbon sinking.
Mr Rubinstein suggested many certified operators hold a strong advantage when it comes to accounting for their natural capital gains, saying; “Tools that measure carbon sequestration, water quality and biodiversity can ensure organic farmers are able to unequivocally evidence the value their systems are adding.”
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Knowledge transfer
With Kingsclere Estates recently becoming an AHDB Monitor Farm, the levy board’s knowledge transfer manager for cereals and oilseeds, Henny Lowth, took to the stage to discuss the role of the Monitor and Strategic Farm Programme.
During the programme’s six-year tenure, strategic cereal farms have delivered long and short-term field trials in a formalised collaboration with research partners, and host farm-scale demonstrations. Monitor farms share their performance information and best practice over a three-year period. The aim of the programme is to increase the amount of data collected and shared among the farming community.
“Translating research into a digestible and accessible format is key to our success,” explained Ms Lowth. She observed that the programme was set-up to act as a knowledge exchange hub for farmers and testimony to that is the programme celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.
“Tim is the first organic farm to be signed up. I’m really keen to see for more organic farms join the programme. There are so many great things to see and learn from how Kingsclere Estates operates which we’ll be showcasing over the coming years. People wanting to hear more can register to attend the winter meeting at Tim’s farm in October.”
Young talent
NOC also played host to the presentation of the Organic Research Centre’s (ORC) Young Organic Farmer and Grower of the Year awards.
The 2024 prize was jointly awarded to both farming duo Adam Beer and Rita Oldenbourg, head growers at Pitney Farm Market Garden in Somerset; and to Chris Gospel from Auchmacleddie, a mixed farm producing organic old-pressed rapeseed oil, sheep and beef in Aberdeenshire. There was a cash prize of £1,500 for each winning entry.
Both entries impressed the judges with their exceptional standards and achievements, as well as demonstrating a passion for implementing organic principles in running their successful businesses.
Organic Market
There was a palpable energy in the room when Adrian Carne, chair of the newly formed UK Organic, addressed the audience. Acknowledging a need for better differentiation, Mr Carne spoke about generating higher demand for organic products in the UK.
“Organic is a community at a crossroads. Sustainable farming has become a congested and crowed marketplace,” said Mr Carne.
“This complexity and confusion has led to lack of growth in the sector. Our job is to create demand, to instil growth and ultimately become more profitable.”
Representing all UK certified stakeholders across the supply chain, Mr Carne explained that the sector needs to be clear about what it wants. He called for participation from certified businesses and producers to enable UK Organic to fulfil its remit of marketing organic effectively.
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New administration
In presenting findings from the organic stakeholder workshop held at Kingsclere Estates the previous day, OF&G stressed that constructive policy discussions with Defra are in progress, with a clear aim to ensure organic recognition within the new government administration.
There was consensus that organic must continue working to ‘up its game’ through better communication to consumers, policymakers and influencers. And while pockets of governmental support currently exist, there was advocacy for being more vocal in championing the sector.
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Afternoon farm walk
Tim May, Kingsclere Estates
Introducing the farm walk Tim May provided an overview of the farm’s organic journey and his vision to grow differently and to grow potential.Conference delegates were then guided round five stations located on the farm to hear about and to see the innovative developments in practice at Kingsclere Estates.
The afternoon farm walk gave guests the chance to see the exciting developments at Kingsclere Estates. Tim May provided an overview of the 2,500 acre farm’s organic journey and his vision to grow differently and to grow potential, saying that becoming certified organic complemented many of the things they were already doing on the farm.
“We began a phased conversion to organic in 2017, it was a transition to an abundance mindset,” Mr May explained.
“There was a real desire to get off the commodity merry-go-round. We’ve learnt that the more we do, the more we get by holistically managing the land.”
Putting the farm’s success down to acting with purpose, Mr May highlighted three criteria that informed his business strategy: making good decisions, planning for profit, and lastly, staying true to his personal goals.
Divided into a rotation of eight cropping blocks, the estate comprises of four years’ of herbal leys which are grazed in six-hectare blocks, followed by four years’ of crops which currently include organic quinoa, organic linseed, organic gluten-free oats, heritage wheats and grain varieties.
Dr Charlotte Bickler (2nd from left shading her eyes from the sun)
The farm walk included stopping points to see the Organic Research Centre and UK Grain Lab’s spring crop trials with Dr Charlotte Bickler, and winter variety trials with Dominic Amos from Organic Arable.
Domonic Amos, 3rd from right, from Organic Arable
talking to conference delegates about crop variety trials work on the farm
Along the route, independent farming advisor, Niels Corfield provided soil demonstrations, highlighting the importance of water infiltration through the introduction of low maintenance agroecological systems in practice at Kingsclere.
Neils Corfield
Sam Lane from Cotswold Seeds described the diverse seed mixture in the herbal leys he has helped Tim and Oliver establish on the farm, and talked about the benefit of getting a seed mix right for each soil type and set of management practices.
Sam Lane - Cotswold Seeds
Enterprise stacking
As part of the enterprise stacking in operation at Kingsclere Estates, guests met Oliver Chedgey, business co-founder of The Roaming Dairy Limited which operates as a shared farming agreement with Mr May.
This innovative mobile approach offers flexibility as well as improving both soil fertility and the quality of their produce. The herd of 480 New Zealand Friesian Jersey crossbreed cows are milked once a day, between 7am and 11am in a 20-a-side mobile milking parlour, in keeping with the wider regenerative farming activities.
“Grass is a pivotal aspect of the Estate’s growing cycle and the dairy herd is essential for managing the grassland effectively,” said Mr Chedgey.
“One of the great benefits of the mobile parlour is that the muck is being naturally dispersed in the fields where you want it and there’s no extra cost for spreading. It is a cost-efficient system that works for us both.”
Oliver Chedgey talking to NOC delegates about the Roaming Dairy
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Reflections
Looking back on the day, Steven Jacobs, OF&G business development manager and NOC coordinator, thanked Mr May for showcasing organic in action.
“Our guests have come away from NOC feeling inspired by everything they’ve seen at Kingsclere. Tim’s passion and dedication truly shone through. We’ve heard some robust opinions during the conference, which make an invaluable contribution towards guiding the sector at this pivotal turning point,” said Mr Jacobs.
“We can’t sugarcoat things. We have to confront the challenges our world faces head-on. Doing so takes courage, accountability, and a willingness to do better. Or as Tim so succinctly put it – the organic sector must ‘act with purpose.’”
As Tim so succinctly put it, now the organic sector must ‘act with purpose.’” said Mr Jacobs.