The Second Chapter

None of us feels like two weeks have passed - each day we've spent here at the Organic Research Centre has been jam packed with lectures, discussions, and fieldtrips... for two weeks. Friday we had a morning session with Thomas - a crops researcher here - we learned about and discussed seed quality issues, and the legitimacy or illegitimacy of seed breeders and producers making profits from seed sales, and what policies are appropriate regarding the ability of farmers to grow and save their own seed for replanting. I think we all came away feeling a bit frustrated that the systems currently in place leave little room for anything but reinforcement of the status quo. Our afternoon was spent with Dr. Hannah Jones, who used to be a crops researcher here at the ORC, but now works at the University of Reading. She firmly and energetically embedded in our minds the conditions and factors involved in the production of good and poor quality grains - from essential amino acids, gluten, and starch to mycotoxins, grain structure, and the chemical bonds that hold our precious wheat together. It was a long day, but afterwards we went with Lawrence Woodward (the Director of ORC) and some of the staff to the Craven Arms - a pub about a mile down the road - for some drinks and deadly-good pub fare. This sunday we move east where we will be spending a few days at Wakelyn's Agroforestry in Suffolk, and will be staying in a house near Stowmarket. An exciting new area to explore, but I'm sure we'll miss the folks here at ORC, and the footpaths, canal, and White Hart pub of Hamstead Marshall.