ORFC 2024

Join Myco Manchester and Bristol
Fungarium for a discussion of what it
is like to cultivate and scale fungi for
food, medicine and community. Myco
is a small scale urban mushroom
farm based in a market garden which
focuses on community development
and is currently working on creating a
"genetics library" of local mushroom
strains inspired by the seed sharing
movement. Bristol Fungarium grows
two tonnes a month of medicinal
mushrooms, which they extract and
bottle on site. They are working with
RHS Wisley and Natural England to
reintroduce native fungi strains to UK
Forests. Hear the stories of these two
fungi projects, and the lessons learned
along the way.

ORFC 2024 Mushroom Farming- Experiences Of Growing And Working With Fungi

Speakers: Rosie Inman-Cook, Yuli Somme, Rosie Kindersley
Chair: Liz Rothschild
We shall discuss the pros and cons of natural burial. Can natural burial be rolled out across more farms as part of farm diversification? Is saturation level and proximity to existing sites an issue? We shall explore the topic of de-carbonising funerals and how natural burial can become mainstream as part of farm diversification. Could “planting our carbon bodies” become a valuable part of regenerative farming and can this help people connect with farming and nature?

ORFC2024 How Can Natural Burial Become Part Of Diversification On Farms?

Facilitators: Anna Jones, Alex Price, Emily Davies
Understand what makes a good story, unlock your creativity and kickstart your ideas in this interactive media education session with the Just Farmers team. Join broadcast journalist and author Anna Jones, filmmaker Alex Price and Just Farmers’ Managing Editor Emily Davies for an hour-long Make Yourself Heard Workshop that explores the relationship between the public and the media. Learn what the media wants by developing your news sense and editorial judgement, and have a go at pitching your own story.

ORFC2024 WORKSHOP- Tell Your Story Part 1- Make Yourself Heard

Speakers: Dee Woods, Sarah Williams,
Richard Lee, Ebany Dohle Chair: Bonnie VandeSteeg
This session will look at some urban Commoning projects, how they set up and on what commoning principles, and consider how they can be up- scaled so as to challenge the power of the dominant landowners in the city. There will be discussion about overcoming barriers to commoning related to land access and governance. We will consider how the food growing projects practising commoning can link more closely with housing and environmental campaigners to build a movement that can effectively turn our cities into Commons- for social, ecological and food justice. This session will include voices from Southwark Community Planning Network and Glasgow Food Growing Network.

ORFC2024 Commoning Of The City

Speakers: Jane Cooper
Chair: Bonnie Welch
The Lost Flock describes a personal journey to save a sub-group of UK’s rarest sheep breed in 2013 and how the closure of the island abattoir led
to agroecological farming, involving other farmers in a Community. Jane Cooper of Orkney Boreray (a collective of farmers, craftspeople, and others) will take through the influence of learning about agroecology and the ethos of Colin Tudge, Chris Smaje, and attending ORFC.; now, as farmers, they are working with craftspeople, butcher, restaurants and our customers in a fair trade, convivial relationship. This talk aims to inform and inspire others as Jane has been by previous ORFC speakers. What Jane has achieved in Orkney is through taking thoughts and ideas and turning them into a working reality, driven by a passion to save a unique group of sheep from extinction, and she wants to show people that this can be done and to inspire them to go out and do something as appropriate to their situation, skills and experience. There will be plenty of time for sharing and discussion.

ORFC2024 The Lost Flock- How A Group Of People Turned Saving A Rare Breed Into Profitable Businesses

Speakers: Loretta Bosence, Summer Islam, James Shorten, Tim Crabtree
Chair: James Binning
In the UK, farmland is predominantly used for food production. But as the building industry’s interest in the benefits and applications of lower energy and less harmful materials like hemp, straw, flax and earth grows, competition with and tension between using land for food and for material production is going to increase. This panel will make the case for why we need to look at farmland as a space in which we produce more than just food, and look at the role that a more bioregional, regenerative approach to the production of materials and buildings could have in improving rural economies, communities and environments in the UK. The panel will be chaired by Assemble, an interdisciplinary practice working across the built environment to create, design and maintain better environments.

ORFC 2024 Mushroom Farming- Experiences Of Growing And Working With Fungi

Oxford Real Farming Conference