06
Helen Browning on the early days of IF
Co-operation and co-innovation
18
CONTENTS
The Soil Association is a membership charity campaigning for planet-friendly food and farming. We believe in the connection between soil, food, the health of people and the health of the planet. Founded in 1946, we drafted the world’s first organic standards 30 years ago and by joining us you can support the transformation of the UK’s food culture, give your beliefs a voice and become part of the solution.
Memorable moments
from the last decade
42 27 NEWS FEATURES TECHNICAL
Raising poultry on home grown feed
6 OPINION
Helen Browning on 10 years of innovative farming 8 FARMER AND GROWER BOARD
Tom Rigby on the role of the board and building natural solutions together 9 NEWS ROUND-UP
An update on Ukraine, grazing ewes on red clover, cultivating margins for solitary bees and new funding for the Organic Research Centre 12 MARKET NEWS
Growth in the global organic market and the latest Organic Market Report 27 INNOVATIVE FARMERS
A timeline of key events over the last 10 years of Innovative Farmers
16 SHINING A LIGHT ON INNOVATION
Some of our most memorable field labs 18 A CULTURE OF CO-INNOVATION
The key take out messages from the LIAISON project 22 AGRICULTURAL DIVERSITY
Field labs that have looked at species and varietal diversity 32 FOREST LABS
Why forest labs could help achieve better management of forests 50 WHY WE’RE PLANTING FEWER TREES AT EASTBROOK
The reasons why it’s sometimes better to plant fewer trees 54 SCALING UP FIELD LAB OUTCOMES
How field labs could change the way we farm
34 IMPROVED DAIRY ANIMAL HEALTH
A look at two dairy field labs 36 WHY FARMER-LED RESEARCH WORKS
Interview with Iain Tolhurst and Andy Dibben 40 IS INTERCROPPING THE WAY FORWARD?
The successes of the intercropping field labs 42 SUCCESSFUL ORGANIC REGENERATIVE POULTRY
Tips on managing a resilient poultry enterprise 44 RESEARCH
Lambing, pasture management and wireworms 48 RESOURCES
Some of the many videos and other resources available online from the Soil Association and Innovative Farmers
The Soil Association magazine
for farmers and growers
SPRING 2022 ISSUE 139
Celebrating 10 wonderful years of
INNOVATIVE FARMERS
Farmer-led research answers the big questions from farmers and growers
PLUS Co-innovation / Forest labs / Intercropping / Regenerative poultry
Market news / Research / Innovative Farmers / Technical advice
ISSUE 139 SPRING 2022
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
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