Every January the Oxford Real Farming Conference connects people in the UK and around the globe who want to transform our food and farming system.

Here are a few of the themes you’ll find in the programming at ORFC 2025:

FARM PRACTICE: There’ll be lots of great take-home advice, deep dives into the success and challenges of individual farms, and practical discussions on topics such as natural flood management, activating soil enzymes, pest control, and biodiversity and livestock. The farm practice strand is organised in collaboration with Soil Association and Pasture for Life.

FOOD AND FARM POLICY: For everyone impassioned by the politics of food and farming, we’ve selected a brilliant series of policy focused sessions with Sustain and the Soil Association. What are the practical political tools that can be used to achieve transformation? Come along to sessions looking at all facets of the just transition: from creative ways to fund it, to moving beyond intensive livestock; and for discussions on public farmland, pesticide policies, ecocide law, agri-misinformation in elections, ELMs, and more.

JUSTICE STRAND: The Justice Strand, hosted by Solidarity Across Land Trades (SALT), Shared Assets and Seeding Reparations, invites those from marginal perspectives to connect, share knowledge and empower each other. Sessions centre on equity, solidarity and collaboration and explore topics such as: land access, reparations, abolition, health justice, racial justice, queer liberation, neurodiversity, alternative economies, migration, workers’ rights and anti-oppression.

LANDWORKERS ALLIANCE AND LA VIA CAMPESINA: La Via Campesina (LVC) is a global grassroots ‘movement of movements’ representing over 200 million peasants, farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk and Indigenous people across 81 different countries. The Landworkers’ Alliance is a member organisation of LVC, and works to build the movement for agroecology and food sovereignty across all four nations of the UK. This year, the LWA x LVC programme will bring together landworkers, young people, trade unionists, and activists from the UK and internationally to explore what it means to be a social movement and why building a social movement is key to achieving agroecology.

LISTENING TO THE LAND: this strand explores what it means to have a more reciprocal relationship with Nature and how a heart-based approach to our work might support and progress the transformation of our food and farming system. Working with partners, the Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA) and Animate Earth, you will find various sessions seeded through the programme that explore traditional or indigenous knowledge systems, farming practices based on an intuitive relationship with the land to establish a more embodied connection to landscape.

YOUTH: In partnership with Emergent Generation, La Via Campesina, and FLAME, we’re hosting youth-oriented sessions across the conference this year. There will be space for youth movement collaboration, intergenerational discussions, art exhibitions, and relaxed networking. Later, there’ll be a relaxed roundtable on inspiring more youth to join activist movements, before an evening drinks where newcomers passionate about the politics and practice of food and farming will have a chance to meet movement leaders.

SOCIALS AND ENTERTAINMENT: We’ve got plenty of social opportunities – from landmatching lunchtime gatherings to evening socials for our LGBTQIA+ community, food and farming newcomers, and journalists. We’re excited to be hosting wonderful live music, poetry and storytelling performances in the evenings.