Views from ORFC: Inspiration for food and farming in 2024

The Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) has flourished since it began in 2010, now drawing a huge diversity of people from across the world of food and farming. We caught up with some of this year’s attendees to get a better sense of why they were at the conference and what they had to say about the event.

We hear from six of the attendees, who kindly answered our questions, despite being accosted at random (truth be told, we knew a few of them, but most were new faces). Here’s what they had to say.

Sally Davies, Farmer, The Penpont Project

What brings you to the ORFC? Is this your first time or do you come every year? 

This is my first time. I’ve come here because I was on a panel. We rent two farms on the Penpont Estate; we also own some ground, but part of one of our farms is in what’s called ‘Penpont Project’, which is an inter-generational project looking at increasing biodiversity on that piece of land. And I thought, well as I’m here, I may as well go to some of the talks.

What were your ‘go-to’ sessions?

My ‘go-to’ sessions this morning were regarding rivers and pollution. This afternoon, it was about Welsh farming and food. Yesterday, it was about commoning and common grazing – that was interesting.

Was there anyone who inspired you?

I thought the people in the session on rivers spoke really well; they were quick to say that we’re not ranking all farmers as polluters – it’s big business and government grants that have been pushing this agenda. What can we do with this chicken muck? Can we put it through anaerobic digestion and produce energy, like Welsh Water do? At the end of the day, yes, it does produce a lot of muck, but it is producing cheap food as well. You can buy a chicken for £6 that will feed a family of four or five. You can’t do that with beef or lamb.

What’s your biggest take-away from the conference this year?

I think even with all the people that are here, there’s still a misunderstanding, still a divide. I’m a conventional farmer, I’m a commercial farmer, I would be classed as a large farmer. I’ve looked at the way that we farm, and I think that we do come under ‘agroecological’, in a sense. There are a lot of people that feel ‘we have to have agroecological farmers’ but they’re already there – they just need to be supported. Most upland beef cattle and sheep are agroecological. A lot of farmers are already ‘agroecological’ and they don’t even know they are.

Will any of the discussions you’ve had inform your work going forward, and if so, how?

Yes, as a farmer things are going to change, and we have to look at how we’re going to change and how we stay afloat. I want to shorten the supply chain; how do we do that? We need more abattoirs. Talking about food partnerships – I’d love for our meat to go down to Cardiff to feed people. There are people producing good food and it would be good if it stayed local.

Jess Edwards, Relationship Manager, Triodos Bank

What brings you to the ORFC? Is this your first time or do you come every year?

This is my second year and it’s definitely an event that I look forward to. It’s an opportunity for me to keep up-to-date with what’s happening within the organic agricultural sector. It’s a great opportunity for my learning and to meet with existing clients of Triodos Bank UK, and to speak with potential new people who are looking for money.

What were your ‘go-to’ sessions?

The ones focused on the management of livestock, because I get challenged even by friends and family members sometimes going, “Shouldn’t we be moving away from eating meat?”. It’s saying, ‘it’s not the cow, it’s the how’. It’s how cows are managed in regenerative systems, and I need to be an expert in how farmers should be farming regeneratively, so that I can back-up an organic beef farm. The next session is focused on livestock supporting net zero, so I’m really looking forward to that one.

Was there anyone who inspired you?

Patrick Holden, the CEO of the Sustainable Food Trust and Richard Gantlett, who farms biodynamically in Wiltshire, have both been inspiring.

What’s you biggest take away from the conference?

There’s movement in the academic research to support improvements in the way that animals are managed on the land, and how that is positive for carbon sequestration, if done correctly. I also went to a talk yesterday on how ‘Big Ag’ is pushing the narrative that all cows are bad, and we should be focusing on ‘fake meat’ grown in labs. It’s just this marketing beast that’s supporting, through hundreds and millions of dollars, that narrative.

Will any of the discussions you’ve had inform your work going forward, and if so, how?

There was a very interesting session on ‘slow the flow’ and natural flood management. I think when I speak to customers who are looking for loans from Triodos Bank, it’ll help me really understand what they do for natural flood management on their land and see if, perhaps there’s some way that Triodos can support additional lending for better flood management. Going forward 20 or 30 years, that’s going to be a huge part of what farmers are doing on their land. If Triodos can be at the forefront of those nature-based solutions that’s something I really want to take forward and focus on.

Vicky Hird, Wildlife Trusts

What brings you to the ORFC? Is this your first time or do you come every year?

I’ve come almost every year since it started – first as Friends of the Earth, then at Sustain, and now I’m here with the Wildlife Trusts, because we care very much about what happens to food and farming.

What were your ‘go-to’ sessions?

Oh gosh, how does anyone answer this? I obviously like the one that I just did about fairness in the food supply. I went to the one on horticulture – ‘A market garden renaissance across the four nations’, which was so inspiring. I’ve been to so many! I also went to one with Lord Deben on climate and net zero and he made a great suggestion (that will never come to pass) about having a department for Land. I love that idea!

Was there anyone who inspired you?

Everybody here inspires me. Jyoti Fernandes of the Land Workers Alliance always inspires me.

What’s your biggest take-away from the conference this year?

I was just saying to someone that we need to get going now and act really fast, because we’ve been talking a lot. This is the 15^th ORFC, and it’s done brilliant things. It’s changed the narrative; it’s also changed the Oxford Farming Conference and, although I don’t think the two conferences should merge, they could do more together – that would be one small but significant act.

I think we need to scale-up the solutions, particularly the supply chain alternatives and new routes to market – to tell the funders and the investors who are investing in silly stuff, to invest in abattoirs, infrastructure, all the things that farmers need to get out of solely transactional relationships and have a more relational network with their customers and with traders. That will be something we really have to scale-up quickly – especially with climate change; we’ve got to be more resilient.

Will any of the discussions you’ve had inform your work going forward, and if so, how?

I have a long list, but one of the things high on that list is the need for more edible horticulture – it could really deliver a massive health dividend. Fruit and veg on every farm would be great campaign.

Pete Richardson, Grower, Eastbrook Farm

What brings you to the ORFC? Is this your first time or do you come every year?

I came when it first started about 15 years ago; I’ve come almost every year except for two that I missed.

What were your ‘go-to’ sessions?

I would say this because I’m a grower, but the ones on horticulture. All things horticulture.

What’s your biggest take-away from the conference this year?

Enthusiasm for another year of campaigning and proselytizing about organic.

Will any of the discussions you’ve had inform your work going forward, and if so, how?

On political representation, definitely, and on the regenerative arguments that we’re having within the organic movement, again, definitely.

Simona Valuckaite, Head of Operations, D I R T charity

What brings you to the ORFC? Is this your first time or do you come every year?

My first time was last year, and I have discovered ORFC as one of the best conferences to go to for deep development on so many levels, and not farming only!

What were your ‘go-to’ sessions?

 My ‘go-to’ sessions were about soil and speaking to the land and farming with its spirits, tapping into spiritual aspects of nature for the wellbeing of people and the planet, belonging to places – the language and lore of our wisdom traditions, as well as sacred rituals and storytelling folk performances. I went to some practical sessions such as the ones about growing hemp and open-source technologies.

I would have wanted to go to the ones about justice and taking action, such as the one chaired by Jyoti Fernandes; or about land inheritance (led by Gabriel Kay) as well as all the ones about fibre, such as scaling regenerative fibre or rediscovering the flax industry in Scotland – such as shame I could not make it to those.

Was there anyone who inspired you?

I am always so, so inspired by the conference. The sessions I went to were so powerful! I am always very inspired by Satish Kumar, Patrick MacManaway, Shiniya Imahashi, Barbara Hachipuka, Charlotte Dufour, Sam Lee and many more. These people are really inspiring with their stories. Unlike last year, this year I arrived on Wednesday and spent the evening socialising with the farmers and the activists – it was most magical.

What’s your biggest take-away from the Conference this year?

I made so many notes and certainly cannot stop thinking about moments from the conference. I am now doing my best to share the wisdom that was shared with me, within my circles.

Will any of the discussions you’ve had inform your work going forward, and if so, how?

I have learnt that without farmers, we would be hungry, sober and naked. I have learnt that the frequency of our consciousness is a real thing and that we can indeed speak to the beings and the land – it is called ‘a common wild tongue’ (how beautiful!). And that is not a hearing, it is a listening. I have learnt that kindness is at the core of everything that we do. I have learnt that the 18th SDG is love and joy and I pledge to make every email a love letter (as per Satish Kumar’s instructions) to the best of my ability.

Thank you very much for interviewing me, wishing you the most beautiful year ahead.

You can watch the Sustainable Food Trust’s ORFC session ‘What role for grazing livestock in a warming world’ here and read our reflections on this year’s conference here.

Featured image courtesy of Hugh Warwick.