Research
ORC's research is aimed at answering the needs and addressing the questions of the UK organic sector.
In order to successfully address these needs, ORC believes, and has demonstrated, that organic agricultural research should be conducted within established and well functioning organic systems, on a scale large enough to include the range of interactions inherent within diverse agro-ecosystems.
ORC believes this systems research approach provides the best approach to organic systems research and aims, wherever possible, to undertake research in this way.
Research projects include:
Plant breeding
- European Consortium for Organic Plant Breeding (ECO-PB)
- Seed Company Ownership
- 'Wheat Breeding LINK': Adaptive winter wheat populations: development, genetic characterisation and application
- 'Wheat Breeding' (AR 0914): Generating & Evaluating a Novel Genetic Resource in Wheat in Diverse Environments
- 'Oat LINK' (LK0954): The incorporation of important traits underlying sustainable development of the oat crop through combining 'conventional' phenotypic selection with molecular marker technologies
- 'Wheat LINK (LK0970)': Sustainable low-input cereal production: required varietal characteristics and crop diversity
- 'Ergot LINK (LK0962)': Towards a sustainable whole-farm approach to the control of Ergot
- 'Participatory Cereals (OF0330)':Cereal varieties for organic production:developing a participatory approach to seed production and varietal selection
- EFRC Cereal Varieties and Mixtures Trials
- Clover Varieties: Early Bite
Crop Production
- Clover: Cereal Bicropping for Organic Farms
- Companion Cropping for Organic Field Vegetables
- Optimisation of Phosphorous and Potassium Management within Organic Farming Systems
- Improving N Use and Performance of Arable Crops on Organic Farms Using an Expert Group
- Managing Manure on Organic Farms
- Modelling Manure NPK Flows in Organic Farming Systems to Minimise Nitrate Leaching, Ammonia Volatilisation and Nitrous Oxide Emissions (MANMOD)
- ‘Legume LINK’: Using legume-based mixtures to enhance the nitrogen use efficiency and economic viability of cropping systems
- 'Participatory Weeds' (OF0315): Participatory Investigation of the Management of Weeds in Organic Farming Systems
- A review of Knowledge: Inter-Row Hoeing and its Associated Agronomy in Organic Cereal and Pulse Crops (OF0312)
- 'Blight Mop': Potato Variety Mixtures to Reduce Blight (Blight-MOP)
- Alternative, Non-animal Based Nutrient Sources for Organic Plant Raising (OF0308)
Eco-agro Forestry
- Wakelyns Agroforestry, Suffolk
- Functional Biodiversity
Biodiversity and agro-ecology
- Factors Influencing Biodiversity within Organic and Conventional Systems of Arable Farming
- Development and Evaluation of Whole Farm Conservation Plans for Organic Farming Systems
Livestock
- Animal Welfare Issues
- Agroforestry Systems for Organic Chicken Production
- Making the Case for Organic Milk
- Agroforestry Systems for Organic Chicken Production
- Mixes & Parasites
- Enhanced biodiversity and the risk to food safety: Campylobacter and Poultry
- Towards One Hundred Percent Organic: Research and development to achieve a one hundred percent organic ration for the Sheepdrove poultry system: Trial 1
- Towards One Hundred Percent Organic: Research and development to achieve a one hundred percent organic ration for the Sheepdrove poultry system: Trial 2 – Differing formulations of one hundred percent rations
- Towards One Hundred Percent Organic: Research and development to achieve a one hundred percent organic ration for the Sheepdrove poultry system: Trial 3 – The winter season and bird performance on one hundred percent organic ration
Resource use, emissions and sustainabilty
Socio-economics and policy
- A Review of the Knowledge of the Impacts of GMOs on Organic Farming ORC Genetic Engineering Programme
- What issues and aspirations do stakeholders feel should be addressed by publicly funded research into organic farming in the UK