The Organic Research Centre (ORC), the UK authority on organic farming and low-input farming practices, has been acquired by RSK ADAS.
The ORC was first established near Newbury in 1980 as the Elm Farm Research Centre, founded by David Astor with Lawrence Woodward as its first chief executive. It changed its name to the ORC in 2006 and sold Elm Farm in 2020, when the organisation moved to offices leased from the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester.
The ORC was part of the Progressive Farming Trust charity, which also maintains the Agricology knowledge platform. Following the sale, the Progressive Farming Trust and Agricology remain separate entities.
Under its new ownership, the ORC will become a stand-alone business within the ADAS group of companies under the continued management of the current ORC chief executive Lucy MacLennan. ADAS says the move of ORC research staff and ongoing ORC projects to ADAS will allow both organisations to benefit from shared resources and complementary applied research expertise.
“The move of ORC to ADAS not only safeguards the future of ORC and our work advocating organic and low-input farming principles, it also means we can evolve and expand our research into new areas,” says Ms MacLennan. “The ORC has a long and accomplished history, and we want to reassure our supporters that our strategic research aims remain the same as when we were founded – to protect the environment and to enhance biodiversity by means of independent applied organic research and to communicate our research findings widely so as to encourage change throughout the British agricultural sector.”
For the ADAS Group, managing director Jackie Evans adds: “This move signals the start of an exciting new chapter for ORC and ADAS to drive research and innovation in organic, agroecological, and regenerative farming systems.
“ADAS has an excellent track record of delivering independent applied research to support sustainable, resilient, and profitable farming systems. With ORC’s agroecological expertise now in-house, we can pool our knowledge to deliver complex, multifaceted agricultural projects and ensure we continue to deliver the best possible environmental outcomes. Our aim is to add to our portfolio of research and advice, creating a centre of excellence for organic agricultural research.”
Helen Browning OBE, chief executive of the Soil Association, says: “The Soil Association welcomes the news that ORC’s future has been assured through joining ADAS. We have a long history of working together and acknowledge the huge contribution that ORC has made to the organic farming movement over the last 45 years.
“We need a strong organic research capacity to support the sector going forward to give farmers and growers the confidence to transition to better farming systems, backed up by robust science and reliable advice.”