Organic regulation: Proposal for a council regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products
A new organic regulation which outlines the whole process was agreed in June 2007. The latest version can be found here. The project website of organic-revision (www.organic-revision.org) is updating their information about the changes to the regulation as well at the moment and will have some more reports soon that might also be of interest.

Organic vegetable price information finally available
For the first time organic vegetable price information will be available to the sector through a joint project between HDRA and the Soil Association. The Organic Horticultural Price Information System, funded as part of the Soil Association's Growing England's Organic Enterprises (GEOrgE) project by DEFRA, will begin in March 2007. Price information will be collated on a participatory basis with organic growers. Growers who supply data will have summary figures returned to them the following day. Other growers will be able to access the data, after a time delay, at www.soilassociation.org/pricedata. For more information contact Phil Sumption, HDRA 02476 308 200 or email psumption@hdra.org.uk

2006 IOTA conference, December 2006
The report from IOTA's 2nd conference can now be read here.

Orgprints workshop, March 2006
IOTA held a workshop for organic researchers on the subject of Orgprints (Organic Eprints) on 28 March 2006. A report on the workshop plus full User Manual can be accessed here.

DEFRA and HLS payments
Defra has now verbally agreed that under HLS there will now be payments for grazing cattle (up to £35/hectare) and for native breeds (up to £70/hectare). The current list of native breeds includes Herefords.

Defra have now agreed that producers in some CSS agreements and basic ESAs now have the opportunity to apply to OELS, taking up the conversion elements and the ongoing payment, while those in the higher tiers may have to integrate OELS and HLS applications. It will be the responsibility of the farmer to demonstrate the improved environmental benefits in their application.

IOTA wins DEFRA funding for organic research project
IOTA is delighted to have secured a contract with DEFRA to provide access, collation and analysis of organic research. For the first time ever advisers and others will be able to find out quickly and easily what research has been done on a particular topic and get an instant summary of the results. IOTA has been uploading research information to a searchable website called Organic E-Prints (www.orgprints.org), which is now becoming the database for organic research results throughout Europe. Research results from the last 4 years of DEFRA-funded research will be uploaded.

In March 2006, IOTA ran a seminar on using Organic E-Prints, and this will be followed by a series of workshops, which will bring researchers, advisers and trainers together in order to get first hand dissemination of results.

Topic-specific research: As well as developing Organic E-Prints, IOTA will be reviewing the research on over 20 topics, ranging from blight to budgets and varieties to environment. Summaries of these projects will be accessible on the IOTA website in the 2nd half of 2006.

IOTA welcomes your input to identify which topics should be given priority. Get in touch and let us know what you think.

European Network of Organic Advisers
IOTA is now partner in a new initiative which will provide a network for organic extension workers throughout Europe. The inaugural meeting in August 2005 was held in Denmark and included 30 advisers from 12 countries. There were inspirational presentations from Germany, Denmark, Holland and Switzerland where the level of support, training and information exchange between advisers in quite remarkable.IOTA will aim to build on these links and provide new opportunities for its Members here in the UK.

A key part of the meeting was to develop a proposal to the EU seeking funding for technical information and research exchange, training and the development of new advisory approaches and tools. IOTA is the UK representative for this Network. For further information and an update on progress, watch this space.