Now that we’ve had a few days to catch our breath after the Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC), we wanted to share some reflections on the event.
ORFC brings together nearly 2,000 farmers, growers, activists and food system changemakers from across the globe. Being there as a whole team meant we could engage more deeply, have richer conversations and understand the breadth of what’s happening in the movement.
It was fantastic to see so many Better Food Traders out in force.
We have grown so much as a network that it’s impossible to round up what everyone was doing across the two days. Needless to say, we have come back energised and invigorated, ready to support our network members, partners and collaborators through the next 12 months.
Organisationally, we ran a workshop on Sustainable Sourcing and Selling, supported Sustain’s workshop on retail landscapes for agroecology to thrive bringing in knowledge from our ‘Purpose over Profit’ report which we released last year in partnership with FoodRise. And once again hosted some lively networking drinks at The Plough for 50+ members and friends of Better Food Traders. We also sat on the Wildlife Trust’s WildLIVE panel (photo above) talking about routes to market and the role of local, independent traders in a discussion on whether we can afford nature-friendly food. Julia Kirby-Smith (Executive Director for BFT) was also invited to a special dinner at Somerville College which brought the two farming conferences together, and where most of the delicious food eaten was supplied by BFT member OxFarmtoFork.
Here are some key reflections from the conference:
1. Routes to market and retail are an important but under-resourced part of the puzzle: Locally embedded, independent traders selling agroecological produce are absolutely central to making a more equitable and transformative food system. But these enterprises, and the communities they serve need support, and currently there isn’t enough of it. However, the session on ‘The Wholesaler’s Role in Progressive Agriculture’ was over-subscribed; and BFT’s workshop on ‘Sourcing and Selling: How to Find Local, Sustainable Products for Your Food Business’ was full of enthusiastic discussion and traders wanting to do their bit. Sustain’s workshop on This indicates to us the clear interest in the role of traders in changing the food system.
2. Decision makers are taking notice: The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) framework is not addressing the power imbalances,” said Sarah Dyke MP, one of five MPs on Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee that showed up to talk to delegates at this years conference. This session was one of our highlights at the conference. The EFRA committee have a wide brief, firefighting on issues from biosecurity at our borders to river pollution, but we left convinced that they were hearing the need for more strategic thinking by government, more collaboration between Defra and the Department of Health, support for smaller farms and market gardens, and stronger regulation of supermarkets.
3. When it comes to organic, it’s about access and affordability: We heard again and again that farmers and retailers know that their customers care about where their food comes from, and they want organic, locally grown produce. But uptake depends on access and affordability. Growing the organic market isn’t just about awareness; it’s about making organic food easy to find and realistically priced. When it is accessible, people are ready to buy it.
4. There’s a role for everyone: We loved how Holly Purdey (Horner Farm) defined innovation, not as “the latest technical fix but rather how we re-define systems and rebalance power.” At ORFC, there is a shared desire for radical change and everyone having a role to play. From the soil scientists to communication strategists, the food producers to policy analysts, the vets to the shopkeepers, this is a space that recognises that theory and practice go hand in hand.
Were you at ORFC? We’d love to hear your main take away or anything that surprised you at the event this year. Comment on our ORFC Instagram post and let us know!
