OF&G :: The Blog

It’s that time of year again. Tomorrow is our second annual arable event, National Organic Cereals 2009.

Last year's arable event, in Shrewsbury

Last year was a runaway success and I can exclusively report that this year is…… heading the same way! As well as an array of very knowledgeable and topical speakers we’re looking forward to an important announcement from one of our sponsors. So watch this space.

You never know when you go for it again whether you’ll get the same result, but we are once again oversubscribed and looking forward to a very useful and informative day. The weather report doesn’t look too bad either!

Of course things always move on and this year we’re aiming to keep up a stream of snippets from the day using good old Twitter (follow @ofgorganic) to post updates, comments and even pictures – mobile signals permitting. If you’re into Twitter you’ll probably know what I mean when I say that we’ll try and tag our tweets with #noc09. For everyone else, that means you can search on that term in Twitter and should find all the tweets that contain it, thereby giving you a dedicated stream of updates.

Even if the mobile coverage lets us down, we’ll have plenty of info to follow-up for those who weren’t there, with pictures, video and a round-up of the day as soon as we can get it all online.

If you’re coming along, we look forward to seeing you there.

Organic Farmers & Growers licensee Brian Amos (left) dropped by the OF&G stand for a chat. So delighted was he to be given an OF&G mug – he took one for his wife too!

Posted via email from Organic Farmers & Growers

WalesOnline.co.uk has a detailed feature on OF&G licensee Alun Bennett and his family, of Meifod, Powys, which gives Mr Bennett’s encouraging assessment of having gone organic.

Particularly pleasing to see were the following comments:

Milk is still produced from the Clasucha herd of around 120 pedigree Holsteins, which averaged 7,000 litres, a yield that was maintained despite the decision to convert to organic production from 1998. Full status was achieved three years later.

“We were fairly intensive before, but after the initial conversion we’ve been surprised at how well the grass grows,” said Alun.

“Being organic makes it more difficult to get it right, but if you do get it right the rewards are quite good.”

Mr Bennett is among a number of farmers who can quite rightly testify to the fact going organic doesn’t mean dropping production – and they also regularly report the increased satisfaction of farming with your head and not your sprayer!

Well worth a read.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard it said, but it’s good to get a reminder every now and again that choosing to farm organically can actually make sense for the bank balance as well as all the other benefits.

This piece from Business in Dorset about OF&G licensees, Jimi Collis, and his mother, Sarah Worrall, reinforces the point, particularly as Mr Collis used to work in business banking, specialising in farming. He must know what he’s talking about!

Their Launceston Farm, in Tarrant Launceston, is on something of a roll, because Simon in our Quality Systems team also picked up on this lively piece from The Guardian travel section.

Maybe it’s down to the the organic land, but OF&G licensees Tony and Sally Herdman got something a surprise when their mare Aeriel produced a double delivery.

The twin foals, who are both doing fine but have yet to be named, were pictured with their mum in the Shropshire Star newspaper.

Sally told the paper: “We wondered why Aeriel was looking a bit uncomfortable before she gave birth but she is looking a lot happier now.

“Usually the mare aborts one or both foals or one is born dead or they both die soon after birth. It is absolutely amazing.”

The new arrivals, a filly and a colt, are now getting used to life at the Herdman’s Clyro Hill Farm, near Newchurch, Powys.

See the original story (PDF)

This piece from dairyreporter.com is worthy of recording as a more detailed look at what OMSCo is doing for the Dairy Farmers of Britain organic suppliers, how the co-operative sees the market and what its priorities are.

Good news for the organic dairy farmers affected by Dairy Farmers of Britain going into receivership!

Organic milk co-operative, OMSCo, is to take on all their collections and the marketing of their milk.

The deal, which was first rumoured yesterday, has been concluded quickly and is explained in more detail in this news release.

You can also read about how things are going for all affected suppliers in this Farmers Weekly piece.

The NFU is maintaining a frequently asked questions section on its website for Dairy Farmers of Britain members who are worrying about where they stand and what the future holds. You can visit the page here (credit to @CarolineFW at Farmers Weekly for flagging up the link).