OF&G :: The Blog

If you aren’t at the Soil Association conference in Birmingham, you can get a taste of what’s been going on by checking out the stream of relevant messages on Twitter.

And it’s well worth a look right now. There’s been a cracking debate going on involving the notorious Oliver Walston and SA director, Patrick Holden.

Click on this link to catch up now.

The Soil Association conference gets underway today in Birmingham (and yes, they have already been publicly ribbed about the industrial location, at The Custard Factory).

We have folk there, as do most organic organisations and companies. It’s generally a setting in which the more philosophical issues are dealt with and the temperature taken of the sector at this point in time – a kind of state of the nation event for organics.

Interestingly, this year it seems to have kicked off with the SA charity’s director, Patrick Holden, espousing better co-operation and less divide between organic and non-organic farmers. This is pleasing, because it’s what OF&G has been saying since it became the UK’s first government approved organic certifier in the early 90s.

Of course deeply held perceptions and prejudices do not disappear overnight, or merely on Mr Holden’s say-so. There has to be trust and understanding between organic and non-organic supporters and farmers, but hopefully this signals that more of those involved in organics are willing to be inclusive, rather than critical.

If you’re not at the conference, the best way to follow it is using Twitter. There are various people providing updates from the scene, including our own Development Officer, Steven Jacobs, and Deputy News Editor of Farmers Weekly, Caroline Stocks.

Fear not though, if you’re not a ‘Tweeter’ yet you don’t have to delve into this new world too deeply. Just follow one of these links to see a timeline of what people are saying about the event in your web browser.

Using the Twitter website: http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23SAConf

Or using the Twitterfall service: http://twitterfall.com/?trend=saconf!%231F3547

Planning is under way for the annual producer conference run by the Organic Research Centre – Elm Farm.

It’s one of the main get-togethers of the year for organic producers, so it’s worth adding the date to your diary early and getting your application form in if you’re intending to be there.

Click here to download the conference flyer [Adobe PDF]

Booking and Registration Form [Adobe PDF]

Oh and of course it’s once again at Harper Adams University College, giving you a great excuse to pay a visit to our lovely part of the world!

A fascinating day was had by all at our Selling Organics: What’s the Story? conference, held at London’s South Bank University, on Thursday.

Pretty well all of the top names in UK organics were there to hear from industry leaders, marketing experts and academics with real insight on how the organic sector can look to take itself forward.

The main point was to address the failings we’ve all come to recognise in how organics tells its story to a wider audience and a lot of views and experience were shared in a packed schedule. There was also plenty of chance for networking and it was a really good day for meeting new people and catching up with familiar faces.

You can read our full report in the news section of our website and below is the Flickr set from the day. Please forgive the quality of the photography – I am not a professional snapper

It has been a short number of years now since the first evidence appeared linking organic milk to measurable health benefits. Bits and pieces of studies have continued to trickle out since then, all pointing to positives.

Today we’ve come across a piece in Scotland’s Daily Record newspaper that, in essence, suggests more of the same – continued pointers to benefits. We couldn’t find the original science, or even an abstract for the study in question (I confess it wasn’t an exhaustive search, mind you!) but who are we to doubt the venerable Daily Record?

Anyway, the piece is worth a read and you can make up your own mind. It also references the Quality Low Input Food study, carried out at Newcastle University (and across Europe) under the guidance of Prof. Carlo Leifert, and which has presented some interim findings before the full publication, which is expected next year.

Incidentally, Prof. Leifert will be discussing this at our Selling Organics: What’s the Story? conference in London, on October 8. Get in quick if you’d like to be there.

Just found this great write-up on our National Organic Cereals 09 event from Jimi and Sarah at Launceston Farm.

They’ve had some great coverage themselves in the national press and it’s very satisfying to learn that their long journey to Suffolk had positive benefits for them. They’re not alone – the feedback from the day is still coming in and it’s all extremely up-beat!

If you’ve read further back in this blog you’ll have seen us being very pleased about the success of our Organic Cereals 2009 event this month.

The key to that success was delivering a focused agenda that dealt with the honest practicalities of venturing into organic arable. People came to find out facts and informed opinion and we were determined that’s what they would leave with. And they did.

OF&G CEO, Richard Jacobs, with Annette Bertram (left) and Alison Lidbetter of Organic Conferences Ltd.

So now we’re shifting that focused approach across to the act of selling, and communicating about, organic food. We’ve announced our involvement in a new one-day conference titled ‘Selling Organics: What’s the Story?’.

OF&G has teamed-up with Organic Conferences Ltd to pull together key people in the organic sector who will share their knowledge and insight of what it takes to create and promote an organic brand. But it’s not just about individual brand marketing. Our speakers will be taking a close look at what the organic sector needs to do to explain itself to its consumers.

The message has come across loud and clear in recent months that promoting the clear benefits of organic food is not something the sector has done well. Even Sainsburys boss, Justin King, has felt moved to comment on this. Initiatives are beginning to emerge to try and address the problem, but it’s going to take a change in thinking and approach from everyone to help shoppers realise why they should buy organic food. It seems that, at the moment, many are confused about why they would buy organic, or do so for perhaps one headline reason that may be personal to them.

Some will buy free-range eggs because they think that’s better for chickens than organic, without knowing that free-ranging is a core and essential part of the organic regulation. It is this kind of misconception we need to address.

So, on October 8, at London’s Southbank University, we will be joined by no less than: Craig Sams, founder of Green & Blacks;  Steve Clarke, marketing director at Rachel’s; Dom Lane, associate director of Bray Leino PR, which is working on a number of promotional projects around organics; Lawrence Woodward, director of Organic Research Centre – Elm Farm; plus fascinating academic research into branding and consumer perception presented by Professor Andrew Fearne and Dr Matt Reed.

It’s going to be an excellent day and the places are strictly limited to around 200, with bookings already being taken. If you’d like to come along please visit the Organic Conferences website to find out more and secure your place. There are also comments from our CEO here. It’s going to be a fascinating day.

Well, National Organic Cereals 2009 is done and dusted – and it was a stonker!

I know that sounds like blowing our own trumpet, but it wasn’t the success it turned out to be purely because of the organisation. It was down to the fact that pretty much everyone who mattered was represented: farmers, millers, consultants, traders, professional and support organisations, you name it.

The official head count (as in, those ticked-off on the delegate and exhibitor registration sheet) amounted to 189. There were a few more people on top of that who showed up as well.

The speakers were very well received and the information imparted was right on-topic, making the day the practical, warts-and-all look at organic arable we intended it to be. The wide array of exhibitors added to the overall usefulness of the event and the caterers laid-on a superb lunch of organic beef, followed by afternoon tea and cake. The weather even played its part by staying dry until the tail end of the packing up!

We were delighted that our headline sponsor, Triodos Bank, was able to announce its ground-breaking initiative to provide a £5 million fund dedicated to supporting converts to organic arable farming at market-beating interest rates.

There was a buzz around John and Alice Pawsey’s farm, at Shimpling, Suffolk, throughout the day and we must pass on our thanks to them once again for being the perfect hosts.

John’s farm walks to view the specially planted trial plots were a highlight of the day which seemingly no-one wanted to miss.

Tonnes of credit has to go to OF&Gs’ development officer, Steven Jacobs, who was the driving force behind the whole thing and the man with the frazzled, “I’m only standing upright now because my backbone doesn’t have a hinge” look on his face at the end of the day. Nice job, Steven.

You can take a look at our collection of photos from the event on our Flickr set, here (or click on any of the photos above).

A lot of new acquaintances were made and some old ones renewed and, perhaps the most important result of the day, we spoke to non-organic farmers who came to learn and are now seriously considering delving into organics.