Building Agricology for the Future

As a user of Agricology I hope that you find the resources provide a source of engaging and useful information. For seven years now Agricology has been supporting farmers to adopt practical, sustainable agriculture - regardless of labels. This is achieved by bringing together research from the field and farmer experiences on practices that restore the farm ecosystem, with contributions from over 40 sector leading organisations.

"The vision of ‘farming without labels’ has created a potent creative force in UK farming” Dr Alastair Leake, Director of Policy, The Allerton Project & Agricology Advisory Group member

Demand for Agricology has increased significantly, with the site now receiving over 100,000 visitors a year. We have been able to adapt and develop our content over time - for example during the pandemic we turned our farm tours into virtual events and created and shared webinar content so that our community could still engage with one another.

But there is so much more that we want to do - we want to expand our farmer profiles, videos, podcasts and library of over 440 resources, not to mention re-invigorating our programme of field days on-farm in collaboration with partners to provide a space for demonstration and discussion.

However, there is a cost involved in providing these resources. One that is currently borne entirely by the Organic Research Centre (ORC). What you may not be aware of is that the ORC is a charity that depends on donations to fund Agricology.

We would like to ask for your help by making a donation so that we can continue to make all this information freely available to users and open to everyone. Your support today would be used to help curate:

• Our online library of key research papers, technical guides and videos
• On-farm field days
• Discussion forums at key agricultural events such as Groundswell
• Podcasts
• Farmer profiles
• Blogs and vlogs
• Virtual events and webinars

It costs over £180,000 a year to run Agricology, the majority of which is secured from charitable trusts, but we know from our annual survey of Agricology users that you want us to expand our portfolio of evidence-based information on sustainable farming methods. Hence our appeal to you today.

Together we are stronger. The strength of Agricology is that it promotes practical, sustainable farming regardless of labels through its network of partner organisations. Together we can build more diverse, resilient systems, working with nature to help restore the land and ecosystems and ensure a secure supply of food.

Will you help us today by making a donation that will ensure we can continue to develop Agricology’s much needed and appreciated resources? Your support would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Lucy MacLennan, ORC Chief Executive and Agricology Advisory Group Member