The Farmers Mart Aug-Sep 2018 - Issue 58 | Page 49

ARABLE 49
• AUG/SEP 2018
Conversations about organic must change
if sector’s opportunities are to be realised
THE organic sector needs to
change the way it engages with
farmers, consumers and policy
makers if the huge opportunities
offered by the sector are to be
taken more seriously.
Roger Kerr, chief executive of
organic licensing body OF&G, said
organic farming offered major po-
tential to businesses post-Brexit,
Roger Kerr, OF&G chief
executive speaking
at NOCC 2018
as well as significant opportunities
for ecological innovation.
But too many years of comparing
and criticising other production
systems meant the sector had not
received the positive attention it de-
served - something producers and
organic businesses had to change.
Speaking at OF&G’s National Or-
ganic Combinable Crops conference
in Shifnal, Shropshire on Tuesday (3
July), Mr Kerr said organic’s ability
to deliver environmental and public
goods should put the sector ‘at the
heart of the mix’ of post-Brexit farm-
ing policy discussions.
“Part of that is because organ-
ic has become a loaded word,”
he said. “We need to change
things. We need to start engaging,
sharing, and change the record
if organic is to be part of the UK’s
domestic agricultural policy.
“We need to talk about organic
differently and show that it’s good
for business and delivers on pro-
ductivity. We need to talk about its
Independant soil educator Joel
Williams speaking at NOCC 2018
opportunity to deliver on cash-
flow and product integrity.
“We also need to talk about eco-
logical innovation alongside techni-
cal innovation, which is an area we
haven’t really started to mine as far
as government is concerned,” he
told delegates. “We need to place
organic in the centre of that to help
drive that innovation.”
Now in its 11th year, NOCC has
become a vital part of the or-
Dr Elizabeth Stockdale NIAB
ganic farming calendar, bringing
together over 200 people from
across food and farming, including
organic and non-organic farmers,
processors, retailers, academics
and plant breeders.
Speakers at this year’s event
included Australian soil scientist Joel
Williams and NIAB’s head of farming
systems Liz Stockdale, who offered
practical advice to delegates on im-
proving soil health and structure.
Regardless of systems, both
speakers stressed the importance
of farmers really getting to know
their soil health by spending more
time handling and observing.
“Scientists don’t know
everything about soils and neither
do farmers,” Dr Stockdale said.
“Knowing your textures and the
way soil works matters. We need
to get out of our tractors and look
at what we are dealing with.”
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