Oxford Real Farming Conference

Attendees, exhibitors & solutions

Who this event is for

Industry trends

Key trends shaping this market and its wider industry.

Hotel tiers

A range of accommodation options near the venue and across key areas.

Local transport

Get around the city with these convenient transport options.

Frequently asked

Glossary

1

Agroecology

Farming that treats the holding as an ecosystem: building soil health, biodiversity and closed nutrient cycles while still producing food. It is the organising theme of the Oxford Real Farming Conference, linking on-farm practice with policy and research.

2

Regenerative agriculture

Practices such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, diverse rotations and planned grazing that aim to rebuild soil carbon, soil biology and farm resilience rather than only maximising short-term output.

3

Food sovereignty

The principle that farmers and communities, not only global markets, should control how food is produced, traded and eaten; a recurring political strand in conference discussion.

4

Cover crop / green manure

A crop grown between cash crops to protect bare soil, fix nitrogen (clover, vetch) or scavenge nutrients (rye, mustard), then terminated or incorporated before the next crop.

5

No-till and low-till

Cultivation approaches that minimise or avoid ploughing and mechanical soil disturbance, relying on cover crops, mulch and rotations to manage weeds and structure.

6

Agroforestry and silvopasture

Integrating trees with arable or horticultural crops (agroforestry) or with grazing livestock (silvopasture) for shelter, fodder, timber and biodiversity.

7

Rotational and mob grazing

Moving livestock between small paddocks on a planned schedule so pasture has time to recover; widely used in regenerative ruminant systems and a common practical session topic.

8

Integrated pest management (IPM)

Combining rotation, habitat for beneficial insects, monitoring and threshold-based intervention so chemical inputs become a last resort rather than the default.

9

Community-supported agriculture (CSA)

A subscription model where members pay a farm in advance for a share of the season's produce, sharing risk and reward with the grower; a frequent community-food theme.

10

Heritage and open-pollinated seed

Non-hybrid varieties that breed true and can be saved and replanted by growers. Seed-saving networks and variety trials are a staple of the agroecology circuit around this conference.

11

Short food supply chain / food hub

Routes that move produce from farm to consumer with few intermediaries: farm shops, box schemes, farmers' markets and cooperative food hubs.

12

Agri-environment scheme (UK)

Government-funded payments for environmental land management in England, including the Sustainable Farming Incentive. Scheme rules and payment rates change, so confirm current details on gov.uk.

13

Soil organic matter and soil carbon

The decomposed plant and animal material in soil. It drives fertility, water holding and carbon storage, and underpins much of the research presented at agroecology events.

14

Agrobiodiversity

The variety of crops, livestock breeds and wild species used in and around farming systems, seen as the practical buffer against pests, disease and climate shocks.

15

New entrant and smallholder farming

Growers starting out on small plots, tenancies or community land. Conference programmes give space to new entrants, smallholders and market gardeners alongside larger farm businesses.