The Farmers Mart Aug-Sep 2018 - Issue 58 | Page 53

ARABLE 53
• AUG/SEP 2018
Organic’s potential
for whole farm
improvements came
under focus at largest
organic on-farm event
Opportunities to drive improvements across entire farm operations came
under the spotlight during the UK’s largest organic on-farm event.
THE National Organic
Combinable Crops (NOCC)
conference brought
organic and non-organ-
ic growers together to
hear the benefits organic
systems bring to farm
business and the farmed
environment.
Held by OF&G at Green
Acres Farm in Shifnal near
Telford, Shropshire, on
Tuesday 3 July, NOCC 2018
featured experts from
across production and
supply networks.
Speakers included NIAB
head of farm research Liz
Stockdale, who dis-
cussed the organisation’s
£1m, five-year project to
improve understanding
of soil health biology
and management, and
independent plant and soil
educator Joel Williams.
This year the renowned
NOCC lunch was provided
by Kimberley Bell of the
award-winning Small Food
Bakery.
Kimberley and her
team, who won Best Food
Producer at this month’s
BBC Food and Farming
Awards, included many of
the key crops grown on
‘ brought organic and non-
organic growers together to hear
the benefits organic systems
bring to farm business and
the farmed environment
’
the farm in their menu to
demonstrate the bakery’s
approach to reconnecting
food with the farmers who
produce it.
The day was round-
ed-off with a farm walk,
looking in detail at NOCC
host Mark Lea’s business,
which included a green
waste composting opera-
tion. Visitors looked in de-
tail at all of the crops being
trialed on the farm and
also got to see the results
of special pea trials.
www.ofgorganic.org
LIVESTOCK
Saving Rare Breeds - Rare Breed Survival Trust
THE leading UK charity dedicated
to protecting rare breeds of live-
stock, RBST was formed in 1973 by a
group of farmers and scientists who
realised that breeds were being
lost from Britain’s countryside at an
alarming rate. 26 breeds, with evoc-
ative names like the Lincolnshire
Curly Coated pig and the Goonhilly
pony, had already disappeared,
and it has been RBST’s mission since
its formation to ensure that no more
breeds are lost.
The charity monitors breed num-
bers and runs active conservation
projects to ensure that our rarest
livestock breeds are protected and
promoted – RBST also publishes
an annual “Watchlist” showing the
relative numbers of all our native
breeds which can be found on
their website www.rbst.org.uk
‘ protected and
promoted ’
RBST holds the National Live-
stock Gene Bank – similar to the
Millennium Seed Bank, this is a
collection of semen and em-
bryos which is constantly being
increased – with the ultimate aim
that should a breed be lost due
to a catastrophic event such as
Foot and Mouth disease, it will be
possible to recreate it.
To find out more about RBST’s current
conservation projects and donate
to help their conservation work visit
www.rbst.org.uk