Experiences and reflections from ORFC 2026

Having just returned from my annual pilgrimage to the Oxford Real Farming Conference 2026, I feel revitalised and ready for another year ahead.

The ORFC is very different to the other Oxford Farming Conference which is held at the same time, just down the road. They host large corporations, Big Pharma, chemical companies, politicians and land agents. However ORFC invite people who value compassion, respect the environment and work with the natural processes that govern our planet. 

In the words of Gerarrd Winstanley (True Levellers) : 

'Was the Earth made to preserve a few covetous, proud men to live at ease, and for them to bag and barn up the treasures of the Earth from others, that these may beg or starve in a fruitful land; or was it made to preserve all her children?' 

This year the conversations felt incredibly positive. The message that another-way-is-possible is spreading and the regenerative movement is growing.

Mitigating climate change, producing healthy nutritious food and caring for land and wildlife, all whilst having a thriving business, is no longer a pipe dream, it's a lived reality. 

To observe local farmers and supermarkets mindlessly eroding Devon’s natural abundance can be overwhelming at times, however to spend two wonderful days surrounded by like-minded people who care for the countryside has proven vital for me. 

This year I was invited to do a five minute talk at the opening plenary, along with five others. 

We were invited to celebrate and thank a member of the more-than-human-world that’s guided our farming journey. I chose my favourite oak tree, in the railway cutting, next to the stone bridge. I compared the resilience and relationships of this fine oak, built up over decades, to the work I’ve undertaken here at West Town Farm. By gifting the farm to Fordhall Community Land Initiative, I hope to preserve these efforts for the local community.

The other speakers spoke of working horses, dung beetles, asparagus, rain and the crisis in Palestine.

After the relief of delivering my talk, I got to enjoy meeting-up with old friends and connecting with people working on incredible projects in their local communities. I even met up with colleagues from Exeter, one being Martin Windsor from the Exeter Seed Bank. Martin and his team provide activities around the valuable craft of seed saving, so I recommend checking them out. 

I was curious to catch a talk on venison and deer management. It was fascinating to learn that venison is a high protein meat that could be a valuable addition to our diet. And in turn could manage the exploding deer numbers and damage caused to woodlands and crops.

I then headed to a couples therapy session. Featuring candid stories from two farming couples, and it was hilarious! Partly because the chair was skilled at asking the right questions and the couples were wonderfully honest. Merging business relationships with romantic ones can be a tricky balance to strike…

This was followed by an entertaining, almost circus-style atmosphere created by Kate Raworth. The show was based on Doughnut Economics with the theme of Battle for the Biosphere; Nature versus Finance, and what a show it was!

So all in all, a blisteringly good experience, keeping me going for another year here on the farm.

Thanks to Hester and the ORFC team for their support and Hugh Warwick for the photos.