Oxford 2020: Are ‘alternative farming’ systems now the norm?

Dec 30, 2019 at 08:18 AM CST
The Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) and the Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) have traditionally been at opposite ends of the farming and political spectrum. But there does seem to have been some narrowing of the gap in recent years, with those who base themselves in the university’s Examination School (the OFC) finding more and more of interest in what goes on in the Town Hall (ORFC). Issues that the OFRC has been talking about for years – climate change, sustainability, biodiversity, farming with fewer chemicals – have become more mainstream “In the past, the OFC has particularly focused on the Common Agricultural Policy,” says current conference chairman, Matt Naylor. “Farmers have come to talk about it, challenge it, work out how they are going to change their businesses based on what they have learned. “But these farmers now find themselves at a crossroads. Issues that the OFRC has been talking about for years – climate change, sustainability, biodiversity, farming with fewer chemicals – have become more mainstream.”

Dec 30, 2019 at 08:18 AM CST

The Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) and the Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) have traditionally been at opposite ends of the farming and political spectrum. But there does seem to have been some narrowing of the gap in recent years, with those who base themselves in the university’s Examination School (the OFC) finding more and more of interest in what goes on in the Town Hall (ORFC). Issues that the OFRC has been talking about for years – climate change, sustainability, biodiversity, farming with fewer chemicals – have become more mainstream “In the past, the OFC has particularly focused on the Common Agricultural Policy,” says current conference chairman, Matt Naylor. “Farmers have come to talk about it, challenge it, work out how they are going to change their businesses based on what they have learned. “But these farmers now find themselves at a crossroads. Issues that the OFRC has been talking about for years – climate change, sustainability, biodiversity, farming with fewer chemicals – have become more mainstream.”