Organic Futures blog

Recently the WWF have released a large and very important report called the “Living Planet report 2008″.

Its’ focus is on the ecological footprint of people in every country on the planet, looking at resource use, including agricultural land, sea, forestry, built up land and carbon footprint. It’s a very comprehensive piece of work that is really worth looking at. You can download it free here.

One of the main thrusts of the report is that the global financial meltdown is paltry in comparison with the ever-worsening “ecological credit crisis”. Three quarters of the world’s population live in countries that are ecological debtors - i.e. living beyond their biocapacity.

If ever we needed a wake up call to do something about our extravagant lifestyles then this is it.

As winter draws nearer so it’s also the season for conferences. In my experiences of conferences and events in the organic movement at this time of year, it’s like a celebration - generally a quieter time on the farm, a chance to reflect on the year gone and an opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones.

After a gap of nearly two years, the Soil Association conference is back with a vengeance. After the wonderful Cardiff conference it was a little disappointing not to have a follow up conference in January this year. It’s therefore very pleasing to see the themes of Cardiff brought forward to November’s conference in Bristol.

Transition: Food and Farming in 21st century Britain aims to discuss all the critical factors facing society and, in particular, farming. Peak oil, climate change, soil and water depletion and population growth all combine to present major challenges.

The line up of speakers is impressive and includes star of the Cardiff conference Vandana Shiva, recent Schumacher award winner Rob Hopkins, Secretary of State Hilary Benn MP and leading food policy thinker Tim Lang. These, combined with many interesting workshop sessions promises to make the conference a must-be-there event.

Bristol is the host city on 18th and 19th November at the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum (right next to Temple Meads station). Go to www.soilassociation.org/conference for more details and to download the programme.

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the Bristol Schumacher lectures. The event marked the 30th anniversary of E.F. Schumacher’s death, the famous economist who’s book Small is beautiful is a seminal work and helped start the environmental movement.

The theme of the conference was “Less is more”, a powerful sentiment for the predicament in which the human race finds itself. Headline speaker was Bill McKibben, author of The end of Nature and Deep Economy. His message to the conference however was about his new project, www.350.org.

James Hansen of NASA, the foremost climate change scientist on the planet, has stated that CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere shouldn’t exceed 350ppm if we want to avoid severe changes to our climate. The problem is that we are already at 387ppm and levels are rising fast.

His message is therefore clear - we need to cut carbon fast, engage in activities that reduce our carbon emissions very significantly. This means we have to consume closer to home, produce food closer to home, work closer to home, play closer to home and produce energy closer to home.

The scale of the challenge is huge, but is essential if we want a stable climate and planet for future human habitation. But this number, 350, is one that can be spread globally and gives rise to symbols and actions. Think, for example, about:

• Planting 350 trees
• 350 people in a community pledging to stop flying
• 350 people cycling
• 350 miles of new cycle routes
• Every person saving 350kg of CO2 per year, every year
• 350 acres of rainforest saved from logging
• 350 new organic farmers and growers!

…and the list goes on. It’s a very important message. The first step is to go and visit the website www.350.org.

E.F. Schumacher was a visionary, years ahead of his time. Most famously known for his book Small is beautiful, a study of economics as if people mattered, he is credited with being a father figure of the environmental movement. His thinking has influenced a whole generation of visionaries in ecological, social and economic sustainability.

The society set up posthumously in his honour was the Schumacher Society, which runs the annual Schumacher lectures. This year’s lectures in Bristol marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Fritz Schmacher and the title of the one day event is “LESS IS MORE: Can we Really Live Better by Consuming Less?”

The line up of speakers is first class, including Satish Kumar, Jonathon Porritt, Bill McKibben, Andrew Simms, Rob Hopkins and Ann Pettifor. It takes a slightly different form to before, with more workshop sessions than simply plenary sessions.

A day not to be missed - book your ticket here.

Resurgence is an organisation “at the heart of earth, art and spirit”, and produces a superb magazine six times a year. It’s very forward thinking and its philosophy is based around the trinity of Soil, Soul and Society. I cannot recommend the magazine highly enough.

As an extension of Slow Food, the Resurgence Trust is promoting Slow Sunday, when people are invited to take part in simple actions that symbolise a rejection of commercialism, a passion for the planet and a desire for change.

On Sunday 28th September the focus is on baking bread. What a wonderful process that is, taking time to use quality ingredients, proving and baking the bread, followed by a wonderful meal to enjoy eating the bread. This is the essence of Slow Food - not upper class or elitist, at heart it’s very simply about good food.

Food should be grown sustainably, transported as little as possible, cooked with care and eaten with great enjoyment. The benefits of this approach to life is huge and embraces the best things of life. You really don’t have to spend much money to enjoy life.

Go ahead and bake bread - but not just on one day, make it a part of your everyday life.

Harvest festivals have been a central part of British culture in early autumn for generations, a celebration of the time of year when a great diversity of food is available. It can have religious connections, or simply a community that has gathered in the harvest safely. Whatever the basis, the true meanings of harvest festivals held up and down the land in early September, have now been largely lost.

In these days of supermarkets and agri-business, harvest festivals become less about local food than a collection of food from any source; less about celebrating the harvest than carrying on a tradition. We need to regain control of this festival and celebrate it for the important point in the calendar that it marks. In September the UK has the best possible diversity of local food available than at any other month of the year - meat, fish, grains, fruit, vegetables…it’s all there.

Whilst the evenings draw in, the quality of light improves, the hedgerows and trees start turning colour and a mellow air descends on the rural scene. A time for reflection and relaxation for many in the farming and growing community.

A few years ago I attended by far and away the best harvest festival I’ve ever been to. It was organised by ISEC and held on the Dartington Estate near Totnes, and was a truly local harvest festival. It featured about 20 local producers, all selling quality food, and in the middle of the square was a huge apple press where tonnes of local apples were being turned in to juice. On top of all this were some inspiring talks about the benefits of local food. The atmosphere was fantastic and it felt like a celebration with deep meaning and reverence for the local landscape, farmers and their land.

This shoudn’t be a rare occurrence, but sadly it is. Harvest festivals are an essential part of rural life and should not be bastardised by displays of food from foreign lands with no emphasis on local farming and growing.We need to reclaim the meaning of a festival of the local harvest and replicate festivals like the one held at Dartington time and time again, until it is re-woven in to the fabric of society.

A strange subject for a blog about organic farming and growing, surely? Well actually it’s really very relevant.

Today I was washing some honey jars in the kitchen, ready for re-filling, and had Radio 4 on. The next programme was announced as being “about commodity trading.” Oh no, dull as dishwater I thought (excuse the pun). But my ears pricked up as I heard the presenter being Alvin Hall - someone I’ve always admired for putting financial issues in to very plain English.

“Commodity” is not a term I like applied to food, but in the language of investors that is what food is - a commodity that is as every bit as important as oil and metals. What is interesting is the perception of food in the commodity traders’ eyes. Perhaps it’s not the central importance to life that we recognise - health, landscape, rural society, wildlife, etc; but what is being clearly recognised, is that food is no longer a cheap “commodity” in plentiful supply.

One American commentator, Jim Rogers, goes on to say “when this bull market comes to an end you’re going to see farmers on the front cover of Fortune magazine…just like now you see the 29-year old’s from Wall St…it’s soon going to be the 29-year old cotton farmers…they’re going to have the great fortunes.”

So, if global investment bankers think farmers are going to “have the great fortunes” soon, those claims would surely not be said without a good deal of thought and reasoning based on market intelligence and consumer buying trends?

If this is true then it’s good news, but it does mean that people will have to be prepared to pay a fair price for food, which means a higher proportion of their income (as people used to). This will mean quite a major shift in priorities for most people…so can the investors see something that we in the organic movement can’t?

Anyway, if you’re interested you can listen again to the programme here until July 28th.

Cuba has been an inspiration to many people concerned with a post-Peak Oil world, proof of what can happen when an entire country must fall back on the collective genius of its’ population. When supplies of oil, agri-chemicals, machinery and food more or less dried up from the former USSR (about 1991), Cuba found itself in a very difficult situation indeed. The USA, of course, had banned any trading relations with the country. This became known as “the special period”.

People needed food, quickly. Rationing systems were put in place immediately, but at the same time huge effort was put in to food production. Before the special period Cuba’s agriculture chemical and oil use per acre was higher than that of the USA. Suddenly they had virtually no inputs to use…the answer? Organic market gardening.

This bit of film, from Monty Don’s Around the world in 80 gardens is nothing short of pure inspiration. It’s not just the quality of the organic vegetables, but the aesthetic beauty, the social benefits and sheer hard work and dedication to make it work that impresses.

The Young Producers’ Weekend is a major event in the Organic Futures calendar and should be of interest to anyone under the age of 35 connected with organic farming and growing in the south of England.

It promises to be a good event, with a good mix of technical with social, horticulture and agriculture, good food and good company.

The event takes place at Hankham Organics, East Sussex on 12th to 13th of July. Cost £30 per person to include meals - field available for camping. Full details are available here.

To book a place contact Jemima Roberts on 01273 622620 or 07976 012713, or e-mail jemimaroberts@hotmail.com.

The USA is a very interesting country with hidden surprises. For many people from Britain, our perspective is that all agriculture is industrial, everyone has a giant-sized carbon footprint and the President is an idiot. But, for instance, in America there are a large number of Farmer’s Markets, a big Community Supported Agriculture movement and a strong organic sector.

The Greenhorns is a documentary film that explores the lives of America’s young farming community—its spirit, practices, and needs. It was only made recently and exposes a whole new side to America that most people will be entirely unaware of.

Their aim “is to valorize the role of younger growers who continue to refine farming practices, to innovate in new markets, and to reclaim land under sustainable management. With this film, we hope to build the case for those considering a career in agriculture—to embolden them, to entice them, and to recruit them into farming.”

There are many parallels to Organic Futures and we are forging links with active members in the Greenhorns to share ideas, enthusiasm and experiences.

The Greenhorns are also keeping an interesting blog, which is well worth a look.

The Field and Lycetts run a competition called Young Rural Entrepreneur of the year. It was set up to showcase the best young entrepreneurs who are running a business in a rural area, or that benefits the rural economy.

It’s very refreshing to see a high profile competition for rural businesses - with TV programmes like Dragon’s Den and The Apprentice, the city lifestyle and cut-and-thrust of boardrooms is made to appear very attractive. Yet there are so many great businesses that are in rural areas - many of which are every bit as innovative, market-focused and customer driven as high flying city businesses…albeit with lower turnovers!

Last year the winners of the £10,000 cash prize were Ben and Charlotte Hollins of Fordhall Farm in Shropshire. The story of the saving of Fordhall Farm is an incredible one, a feat against all odds and it now exists as probably the best community land initiative in the country, whilst being a beautiful place and a profitable business. It is thoroughly inspiring and a worthy winner of the prize.

Young Rural Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 is now open for entries. The criteria are simple: you are eligible if you are under 35 and run a business with a rural theme in the UK. This is well worth entering…imagine what you could do with £10,000?

Click here for more details.

Here are the details of a fantastic event that is planned for this summer… places will sell out fast so be sure to secure yours asap (contact details at the bottom)….

Young Producer Weekend

Hankham Organics - 12-13th July 2008

Hankham Organics is situated near Pevensey in East Sussex and includes a 1.5 acre glasshouse. A wide variety of traditional and glasshouse crops are grown for a box scheme and wholesale market.

 This event is aimed at young and aspiring horticulturists interested in gaining a valuable insight into the workings of a viable commercial organic growing business. Miles Denyer and Peter Dollimore will host the day and their combination of practical and business skills will ensure this is an insightful and informative event. On Sunday morning there will also be the opportunity to have a walk around neighbouring Montague Farm, situated on the Pevensey Marshes (SSSI) and run by Martin and Gundrada Hole who produce and market their own organic lamb and beef. Montague Farm pride themselves on placing the needs of wildlife at the forefront of all that they do and consider themselves conservationists first and foremost. 

This is a fantastic opportunity not only to gain valuable technical insight but also a great chance for a social get-together with fellow horticulturists and producers - not to be missed! 

Please aim to arrive by 1.30pm on the Saturday. The walk and talk at Hankham will run from approximately 2pm-6.30pm with a break for tea at 4pm. There will also be an evening meal and field space for camping provided. Sunday morning’s farm walk at Montague Farm will run from 10-12am.

Cost: £30 to include farm walks, overnight camping plus evening meal and breakfast.

 ****Book early to avoid disappointment – places will sell out fast!**** 

For further information or to book your place, please contact: 

Jemima Roberts 01273 622620 / 07976 012713 jemimaroberts@hotmail.com  

Access to land is a huge issue for any new entrant to agriculture or horticulture. Unless new entrants happen to have a lot of money behind them (which is unlikely for any young business), prices of land are virtually out of reach of any new business.

Organic food attracts premium prices and it appears organic land does also. Whilst this is a positive in that the value of organic husbandry is being reflected in capital values, it makes it even harder for existing organic farms to be taken on by a younger generation.

Here are some illuminating figures from the Times online:

£3,500 Price of an average acre of farmland a year ago
£5,000 Price that an acre is close to fetching today
£7,000 Price today of an acre of prime arable land
£10,000 Rural market experts say this will be the cost of an acre within three years

Recent sales and valuations of organic farms show a trend in prices exceeding the £5,000 average by quite a margin. Small acerages (which have market potential for horsey-culture).

There is a clear need for some serious thinking from all parties involved in land management for some solutions to these issues. Without some intervention, land will continually be bought up by large businesses and as investments, perpetuating the trend in de-ruralisation and creating an ever-deader rural Britain.

Some time ago now, I read something that has stayed with me: voting with our purses is far more effective than voting at the polling booth. I have long been plagued and perplexed at not only general voter apathy on the one hand but how that translates too: the seeming indifference on the part of politicians as to what percentage, in real terms, of the population actually vote/voted for them, sheds a whole new light on the idea of politicians as representatives of the people: which people exactly? Furthermore, what does this say about us as individuals and as a society?

Voter apathy isn’t the only outcome of perhaps a combination of a general feeling of political malaise, over-centralised power nuclei or a distinctly crumbling faith in our ‘leaders’, though it is all of these I’m sure, but it is also part of a more sinister undercurrent that tickles at the underbelly of our society. Perhaps I have been jaded by the claustrophobia of my urban surroundings; my bucolic roots melting after too long spent blinking under the harsh city lights, but it seems to me that we are closer to a nation of consumers than we are active citizens. This isn’t self-coined, such an idea is echoed and proliferated in the media in both its mainstream and more radical fringes. If we take food as one example: do we grow our food? If not, do we know who does? Do we cook our food or do we simply buy our food?

I’m determined to be optimistic about this, so let’s flip this one over. Let’s take up the mantle and actively vote with our purses. Let’s spend every penny and pound wisely, in every sense of the word. Be brazen, be bold, be active, be responsible: ask questions. When shopping for food, ask the retailer/producer/farmer/grower how it was grown/reared/produced, where it comes from, how far it has travelled and how, who made/grew/reared it, is it free range, what does free range mean, is it organic… these are just some of the questions to ask, ask, ask and never stop asking. If you don’t get an answer, you soon will. The more people that ask questions about the provenance of their food the more that everyone involved in producing food will take note and crucially take heed. Go that one step further too and choose the food that has answers; that you can trace from your fork back to the garden fork. Money, as unfortunate a paradigm as this may be, does speak and loudly too, everyone from small companies to huge multinational corporations are only in the business of selling things that people will buy, so let’s tell them and let’s show them.

Of course, where we spend every penny of our every pound matters. But if we can begin anywhere, let it be with our food. Food and cooking are a fervent, bubbling over passion of mine and I firmly believe that our attitude to food as individuals and as a society profoundly mirrors our attitude to so many other facets of life. I get excited when we come into Autumn and I can eat pumpkins again, I am frequently and flagrantly seduced by herbs and their taste tantalisingly flirtatious aromas… positively gleeful when the hot Summer days bring with them an array of salad leaves… and I could go on but then perhaps I should leave that for my next blog.

For today, dear reader, just take one little kernel with you and stow it safely in your pocket (or wherever else you may find it again and again): it is important to remember that less is always more and to never, ever stop asking questions.

Our approach to health is very strange. The National Health Service is far from its name, it’s almost purely focused on cure rather than prevention. This was really drummed home to me again recently having visited my Grandad. He’s a very old man and not in good health now, but what’s so frightening is his list of pills for the day.

His doctor has clearly prescribed pills for virtually every ailment he has (which is quite a lot). The approach I found completely counter-intuitive; pharmaceuticals arguably have a place for treating specific ailments, but the modern pharmaceutical industry is a voracious industry that generates huge profits on the back of huge sales.

Why not prescibe health-promoting meals, perhaps some herbal medicine and some accupuncture, for instance? I am in no doubt that the pills my Grandad is taking, is massively contributing to his continuing ill health.

The approach of conventional medicine is very similar to that of the agro-chemical industry, and indeed many of the companies are the same. The approach to life underpinned by organic food should also be complemented by an alternative, holistic view of health as a positive state of being, rather than an absence of disease.

Ultimately in Organic Futures we must help to foster a new vision of healthy people and healthy land - the two are inseparable.

It certainly is a strange spring. There seem to be wild fluctuations between mild, wet and windy conditions, followed by cold, wet and windy, then perhaps cold, dry and windy, interspersed with the occasional lovely spring-like day. Whichever way you look at it, conditions are not very suitable for good early plant growth.

I planted out a lot of salad crops that got a bit of a beating from the wind and aren’t looking very happy at the moment. Then there’s my early spuds, which down here on the Isles of Scilly we can plant very early (January) because of the lack of frost. We do, however, have another problem - strong and salt-laden winds.

Three weeks ago saw Southerly winds over 90mph, which really battered the spuds, then last week over 60mph, both times with lots of salt in the wind. But they must be hardy spuds, because they’ve bounced back and are looking surprisingly good. I aim to start digging the first week of May, but that all depends on what the weather’s like between now and then.

That’s the thing with growing, you can’t predict the weather - and even if you could you can’t do anything about it!

Richard Heinberg is probably the world’s foremost authority on Peak Oil and its consequences for human life. He has also produced what I think is one of the most far-sighted quotes of the year:

“The model in the twenty-first century will be re-ruralisation and more human labour in agriculture. The twenty-first century farmer will have 5 acres, lots of friends, and an intensive knowledge of ecology. Now relocation is virtually inevitable due to rising sea levels.”

THIS is why Organic Futures exists - there will have to be a massive re-ruralisation in all industrialised countries.

Richard Heinberg’s website: www.richardheinberg.com/

Read a summary of a brilliant Richard’s talk at a recent Findhorn conference here.

Peak Oil is upon us. “What oil?!” you might say…first things first, read up about Peak Oil if you’re not aware of what it’s all about here.

It’s a phenomenon that will have an enormous effect on everyone living in an industrialised country. Very briefly, Peak Oil relates to the peak, or maximum production, of world oil production. As the image below illustrates, beyond this point oil won’t run out, but it gets much more scarce. Combined with rising demand from countries becoming industrialised and it doesn’t take a genius to see that we are facing a future with restricted availability of oil.

This has huge implications for us - there is literally no part of our lives that currently are not dependent to some degree on a constant supply of cheap oil. There is no doubt that we must decouple our lives from a dependency on oil, moving to low-carbon lifestyles and living in resilient communities.

The Transition initiatives approach takes Peak Oil and Climate Change as an opportunity for people at community level to change their lifestyles for the better whilst making an enormous difference to their ecological and carbon footprints. Read up about Transition and get involved with something happening near you - if there isn’t one then think about starting one!

If you are not aware of the Organic Growers Alliance, it is a recently-created organisation, formed by organic horticultural growers. It was felt by many growers, who have been ‘in the game’ for a long time, that the status of producers within the organic movement was falling and that their interests weren’t being adequately represented.

Producers have always been the heart of the organic movement, but in recent years with the rise of organic food sales in supermarkets and the general expansion of the organic market (now worth over £2bn per year), producers have not been at the forefront.

The Organic Growers Alliance is for growers, run by growers. They have gained a wide membership quite quickly, are running several excellent events this year, publish a superb quarterly publication The Organic Grower, and have a great new website.

Anyone working in, or wanting to work in, organic horticulture should become a member. It’s a great way to network, share ideas and experiences and benefit from the clout of lots of growers working together.

I found this video really good, so do have a look…

And if you’re still interested then watch part two!

So go and have a look at their website and visit them sometime.

Fordhall Farm is an extraordinary place and has an amazing story to tell. Arthur Hollins was a pioneering organic farmers who refused to fit the mould and went against the grain. His grazing system, called “foggage” farming was sustainable and unique; Fordhall Farm was also one of the first places in the country to produce yoghurt.

But as Arthur grew old the farm lost its vigour and vitality. A tenanted farm, the landlords became increasingly interested in selling off parts or all of the farm for ‘development’. The huge Muller dairy lies almost within a stone’s throw of the farmhouse and the land had much ‘potential’ for all sorts of things - anything except farming.

The Hollins family were given a date for eviction and the future looked very bleak. That was until Charlotte and Ben, Arthur’s youngest children decided that they wouldn’t take this lying down. At the ages of 21 and 19 they took on the running of the farm and the fight to save it.

The story is long, complex, emotive, exciting and is a rollercoaster ride. It would make an amazing novel…only it’s real. The nuts and bolts of the story is that, against all the odds, the farm was saved and Fordhall Community Land Initiative was born. The book is an extraordinary read and highly recommended.

Fordhall Farm is nothing short of miraculous and is so inspiring. In the face of adversity, against all the odds, facing such an uphill struggle, Charlotte and Ben made it. They deserve your support, so get involved!

It’s not been widely reported, but the price of a barrel of crude oil has shot through the $100 mark over the past week. What does this mean for us as a society and, in particular, food production?

We are all highly dependent on oil for every part of in life in an industrialised country. Organic agricultural and horticultural systems require oil for manufacture of inputs, to power machinery, in packaging, processing and of course transport. There are many hidden inputs of oil that have indirect effects of the costs of food production too.

A constant increase in the price of oil will have serious impacts on large scale food production and centralised distribution systems. In fact, it will probably be the best thing for local food because labour-intensive food production will be able to compete on price much more effectively with oil-intensive food production.

This will also help to create a demand for skilled labour, and that’s a great thing for Organic Futures. Keep an eye on this Crude Oil Price Forecast - notice that at the moment the one year forecast is for $135/barrel. This will start to effect big changes in food and farming by simple market forces.

Duchy College is one of the largest agricultural colleges in the south west. The main agricultural site is Stoke Climsland and it was here I arrived on a beautiful sunny morning, with mist hanging in the valleys.

Robbie Brighton and I gave a talk to about 30 students, comprising agriculture and rural resource management courses, in the impressive new Agrifood centre. Having plenty of time allowed us to go in to considerable depth on the subjects concerned, from the perception of farming as a career to the history of the organic movement.

It’s fair to say that some of the students were not overly knowledgable about organic systems, but all listened intently and nearly everyone contributed to an in-depth and constructive discussion. A worthwhile visit that made some good links.

We then raced down the A30 to Rosewarne for the second Duchy audience of the day - mostly horticultural students. The mood was quite different here (largely sympathetic to organic) helped by the ever enthusiastic Steve Roderick of the Organic Studies Centre. The discussion was vigorous and constructive, with many of the students really engaged with the issues and enthusiastic about the subject areas.

It then just left me to head down to Penzance, on to Land’s End airport for a short hop back over to the Isles of Scilly. It was good to get home after an intense 9 days on the road, but it felt like a very worthwhile time. Now comes the less glamorous work of taking forward the project, but I can now do so with a much clearer vision of future direction.

The Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester is undoubtedly one of the great college buildings in the country, approached down an avenue of huge lime trees. This was the setting for an inspirational one-day conference called “The future is in your hands”, organised by the Red Meat Industry Forum, in conjunction with Farmers Weekly and the NFU.

The room was full, with probably 150 or more delegates. The day was packed full with lots of discussion and a good degree of optimism (most of the audience were under 30). Young Farmer of the Year, Phil Halhead, gave a good rundown of the Oxford Farming Conference. James Miles-Hobbs, a rural diversification consultant, gave an interesting presentation about the 10 golden rules for diversification, including psychological price barriers, brand clarity, time management and the 4 second rule.

The next spot involved me and Nick Davies, a shepherd from Shropshire. Neither of us had a rural upbringing, both wanted a career on the land and we each have faced significant challenges getting to where we are now. This was well received and stimulated some enthusiastic debate. Nick’s no-nonsense and “can do” attitude was particularly refreshing.

Martin Redfearn, Barclay’s National Agricultural Specialist, gave some particularly good advice about business development principles. For example, that good advice is not always the cheapest, but should be worth more than you pay for it. If you’re going to diversify, do so from a position of strength, not to dig yourself out of a hole. Get the right people on board. Push hard to make your business a success, but know where its limits are.

After lunch was the highlight, an inspirational talk from Simon Woodruffe, entrepreneur supreme, founder of Yo Sushi and original panel member of Dragons Den. His attitude is refreshing and undoubtedly requires a special type of mindset, but nonetheless is inspiring. He emphasised the need to keep re-assessing your business and always take a sideways look at things in order to stay successful.

Lastly was a panel discussion, involving all the day’s speakers, summarising some of the outcomes from the day and fielding questions from the floor. The overall feeling was very positive, much against the perception of farmers in this country.

One striking issue to me was the lack of knowledge about Peak Oil and its potential impact on food production, distribution and consumption. It doesn’t seem to have really sunk in to most farmers’ mindset - or for that matter, that of the farming press and farming organisations. That’s not to say that all organic farmers and growers have minimal dependence on oil, but at least organisations like the Soil Association have taken it very seriously and are spreading awareness as wide as possible.

One of my favourite organic horticultural holdings is Coleshill Organics, in the heart of the village of Coleshill in Oxfordshire. A National Trust-owned village, it is a rural oasis just a few miles NE of the less than glamorous Swindon. Here Pete Richardson and Sonia Oliver have created a wonderful business that is as successful as it is beautiful.

I have been using Coleshill Organics in my lecture presentation as a positive vision of farms for the future. Not only does it produce a lot of excellent organic fruit and veg, it does so at the heart of a rural community, it sells everything locally, it employs lots of people per acre, hosts two organic apprentices (click here to learn more about the Organic Apprenticeship Scheme) and is aesthetically pleasing. This sort of system makes so much sense and, I believe, will be the only sort of system that will become viable post Peak Oil.

Do have a look at their website, in particular to see their excellent video.

Next stop on the whirlwind tour was Bicton College of Agriculture near Budleigh Salterton. This time I was on my own so had to talk about my business, Organic Futures and the Soil Association. It’s difficult to find three matching hats to wear!

The college is set in a beautiful 500 acre parkland landscape, with some beautiful Red Ruby cattle grazing right in front of the college buildings, overlooking the 5 acre lake. What an inspiring view to see whilst learning - I feel this is really important. The whole area clearly has agriculture deeply ingrained in the communities.

The talk was to about 35 students and staff, from agriculture, horticulture and countryside management. The talk was well received and stimulated some discussion later on. One of the lecturers later commented how he had done a work placement on an organic farm in Somerset back in the late 80’s. He had no doubt this had influenced his views on organic (positively I might add!) and that the opposite was true of those who hadn’t visited or worked on organic farms.

This further strengthens the notion that “seeing is believing” and how critical it is that people’s views should be based on truth rather than perception and/or fiction. The implications of positively influencing thousands of college students is tremendous, but will require a big change in culture.

This is a literal and metaphorical description of what I did in Exeter at the lovely Phoenix Arts Centre! Organic Futures has been kindly supported by UnLtd, who champion social entrepreneurs. This was an “Awards Day” where all the awards winners get together to talk about their projects and share experiences and advice.

The whole day is based in a theatre and on the stage are some very wierd pink inflatable sofas, upon which you’re supposed to sit to be “interviewed” by the mad, arty, extravogant but lovely hostesses for the day, Josephine and Belinda who run the “Surreal Saloon“. These pink sofas are the most ridiculous idea to conduct an interview on as you are liable to fall off/sink in to/never get off/expose yourself/strain your back (delete as appropriate!) in the process.

Anyway, I was interviewed about Organic Futures (that’s not me in the photo with lovely long blonde hair!!) and I think it went down very well; I also made some useful contacts.

I’d like to reiterate my thanks to UnLtd for the £4,500 grant to enable Organic Futures to develop. There’s plenty of work to do, but we’ve made a good start and have lots of energy to carry out further plans.

Harper Adams is one of the most esteemed and popular agricultural colleges in the UK. It’s an imposing building and being a traditional sort of place Ben Raskin (Soil Association Technical Manager) and I approached with some trepidation. Our talks contain a lot of issues outside mainstream and we were expecting some tough questioning.

The audience was quite small, but they listened carefully and we held some stimulating debate after the presentations. From what we perceived as a potentially reserved approach, came some vigorous debate abut organic farming, local food, peak oil, GM, food security and a number of other pertinent issues.

We were pleased that Dr John Reade was present, who has considerable knowledge on organic systems and teaches the organic MSc at Harper. It’s strange how people accept facts in a different light if one of their peers is “on board” and undoubtedly this helped move our talk on.

All in all it was a useful visit that made some useful contacts.

Then it was back down South for some meetings at the Soil Association in Bristol to discuss some details on the development of Organic Futures.

The tour of agricultural and horticultural colleges has begun. The idea is to talk to the next generation of farmers and growers in colleges about Organic Futures and all other issues. I will be joined by a member of the Soil Association’s Food and Farming team, who will talk about the work of SA and the origins of the organic movement.

So, we arrived at the Welsh College of Horticulture in Mold and an audience of students on one of the few organic horticulture courses in the country. It was a positive session with lots of good discussion and some clear interest from the students. One interesting point that came up was how we will integrate the ideas and principles of Organic Futures in to urban areas. A good question and one that the organic movement as a whole needs to think about deeply.

A good start to the tour, setting the scene for the next stop, Harper Adams.

The new Organic Futures website is now in operation! It’s been a while coming, but thanks to a grant from UnLtd, Organic Futures now has funding to expand and develop core activities.

Besides the website I’m embarking on a tour of agricultural and horticultural colleges from Cornwall to North Wales, spreading the word about the project. I am also looking forward to discussing the issues at the heart of the project with the next generation of farmers and growers. This project is all about a two way process, sharing ideas and experiences.

If you have suggestions, ideas, questions or would like to be involved please feel free to get in touch and keep checking the website.

Jonathan Smith