Smallholder news, Smallholder for smallholders, keeping animals, poultry, buying a smallholding

Soil Association Director Steps Down

3:30pm Saturday 10th July 2010

Soil Association Director, Patrick Holden, will be stepping down on 30 September 2010 and will hand over to his successor following a publicly advertised recruitment process.

Organic market set to return to growth - good news for smallholders?

5:00pm Monday 12th April 2010

Sales of organic products in the UK fell by 12.9% in 2009 to £1.84 billion, according to the Organic Market Report published today by the Soil Association.

German student wins design for organic logo

5:30pm Tuesday 9th February 2010

The European Commission has announced the winner of the EU organic logo competition. The winning design is by Dusan Milenkovic, a student from Germany, who gained 63% of the overall vote for his “Euro-leaf” logo. Over the past two months, some 130,000 people voted online to choose the new organic symbol from three finalists.

Smallholders can vote for new organic logo

5:50pm Thursday 10th December 2009

Members of the public including farmers and smallholders, are being given the opportunity to cast their vote in the final stages of an EU-wide competition to select a new EU organic logo. Three logos are now under consideration and voters have until 31 January 2010 to make their choice at: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/organic/logo/index.htm.

Your daily bread

11:00am Saturday 7th November 2009

For a long period in my life I used to make bread for the family. I stopped when the children left home as then we ate fewer loaves. In a way it was very sad as although it did take time it was worth the effort for the end result.

OMSCo Announces Bursary Winners

8:20am Thursday 22nd October 2009

The Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative (OMSCo) has announced the winners of its annual bursary awards scheme which encourages young people to carve a career in organic dairy farming.

Organic Farm School

1:36pm Friday 4th September 2009

The Soil Association's Organic Farm School, supported by the Daylesford Foundation, is a series of hands-on courses in growing your own food, rearing animals, cooking and rural crafts. The courses cater to all skill levels and provide the opportunity to learn from organic farmers with personal experience - from a one-day basic introduction to more professional expertise - in bee-keeping, chicken keeping, vegetable growing, willow weaving, hedge laying or dry stone walling, and many others. Discover for yourself the precious knowledge our grandparents took for granted, and the life-enriching experience of a closer connection with the soil. Whether you want to skill-up and make that step towards making your life more sustainable, learn how to live closer to the land, or get inspired and try something out as a possible career option, the Organic Farm School is a great opportunity to try something new as well as have a fun day out on an organic farm.

Guide for using compost on vegetable and salad crops launched by WRAP

1:48pm Monday 31st August 2009

WRAP LAUNCHES GUIDE FOR USING COMPOST ON VEGETABLE AND SALAD CROPS Farmers and growers who are interested in using quality compost for growing vegetable and salad crops have a wealth of information at their fingertips, thanks to a new guide published by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme).

Stock free organic degree - possible bursaries

8:50am Sunday 9th August 2009

Foundation Degree Organic Horticulture at Glyndyr University, Flintshire, North Wales sees opportunity to be part of the animal free horticulture initiative This course aims to develop competent managers capable of driving forward the horticultural business. The course is ideal for those who are aiming to manage or work within the conventional organic or vegan-organic systems. It will provide a sound understanding of crop production under the Stockfree and Soil Association standards which will allow individuals to go on to develop their knowledge and management skills in this “growing” area of production.

Soil Association response to the Food Standards Agency's Organic Review

3:58pm Friday 31st July 2009

Responding to today's review on organic food commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Peter Melchett, Policy Director at the Soil Association commented: "We are disappointed in the conclusions the researchers have reached. The review rejected almost all of the existing studies of comparisons between organic and non-organic nutritional differences. This was because these studies did not meet particular criteria fixed by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which carried out the review.

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