Directory of accredited advisers

Phil Sumption

Phil is now Research Communications Officer at the Organic Research Centre. From 1999 until April 2013 he was based at Garden Organic. From 2007 until 2013, Phil worked on various projects including a European collaborative project ‘Leafy vegetables germplasm, stimulating use,’ and commercial variety and product trials. During this time he also coordinated the Horticultural Price Information Service, in conjunction with the Soil Association, conducted a producer survey of the Welsh organic horticultural market for Organic Centre Wales and contributed to various books including the Organic Farm Management Handbooks. Phil has written many articles for farming and public audiences for The Organic Way, The Organic Grower, The Vegetable Farmer and the Commercial Greenhouse Grower and contributed the organic editorial for The Vegetable Yearbook since 2003.

As part of the Defra-funded Conversion to Organic Field Vegetable Production team from 1999 to 2004 Phil was responsible for the agronomic monitoring of 10 reference farms. This included collation of results and dissemination through the organicveg.org.uk website, open days and the farming press. This project was succeeded by the Organic Vegetable Systems Network project, which ran from 2004 to 2007. Phil also worked on the Organic Weed Management project, a participative project with both farmers and growers from 2003 to 2006.

From January 2002, Phil trained as an adviser with the Organic Advisory Service (Elm Farm Research Centre) and is sub-contracted as an adviser for OCIS (Organic Conversion Information Service) work. Phil has also been an adviser for the Local Food Programme and a mentor for CSA growers under the Make Local Food Work Programme. He has answered Garden Organic members’ enquiries on a regular basis since 2007.

From January 2005 to March 2007 Phil worked on the Evaluation of Organic Vegetable Varieties project in conjunction with NIAB, running formal variety trials and working on a pilot scheme with growers groups around the country on participative variety trials of lettuce and cabbage. He has attended NIAB steering group meetings and the Soil Association Horticultural Seed Working group.

Organic services offered:

  • Technical advice
  • Marketing advice
  • Conversion planning – technical

Areas of expertise:

Organic farming specialisation:

  • Horticulture & fruit
  • Composting
  • Soil management & fertility
  • Wildlife & nature conservation
  • Conversion planning technical
  • Marketing

Organic helpline and general information provider

  • Horticulture
  • Standards
  • Marketing

Contact

Tel: 024 7421 7744
Mobile: 07759 318942
Email: phil.s@organicresearchcentre.com
Location: Wiltshire/Berkshire

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