Programme
The entire programme (PDF)
Day 1: Thursday 6 January 2005
Day 2: Friday 7 January 2005
Day 3: Saturday 8 January 2005
Day 4: Sunday 9 January 2005
Day 1: Thursday 6 January 2005
On Thursday the 6th of January there will be to parallel programmes. The first programme has been organised as part of the EU-FP5 project: “Development of a systems approach to the control of late blight in organic potato production systems (Blight-MOP) and the DEFRA project: A study to develop alternative strategies for the control of potato blight. The programme will focus on agronomy (crop husbandry, fertility management, variety development, seed production, irrigation, crop protection), consequently having particular relevance to producers, packers, processors and traders/retailers of potatoes.
The second programme will focus on translating consumer demands and expectations with respect to quality, safety and cost of organic foods into quality assurance procedures and food supply chain management systems. The programme has been organised as part of the EU-FP5 project: “Recommendations for improved procedures for securing consumer oriented food safety and quality of certified organic foods” (Organic HACCP) with inputs from several other EU and nationally funded projects focused on food quality and safety assurance. The programme has particular relevance to retailers, processors and organisations involved in provision of services, training and development of food quality and safety assurance and HACCP systems.
Programme day 1 (PDF)
For days 2, 3 and 4 delegates will be able to choose between sessions with a workshop format - short presentations followed by a full 45 minutes of discussion - and a 'technical seminar' format in which there will be longer, more technical and research-based presentations followed by a relatively short time for discussion.
Day 2: Friday 7 January 2005
Day 2 will focus in particular on the relationship between farming and public health. There will be plenary sessions on the links between farming practice and health and on how society can go about reconnecting health and agriculture in public policy making.
Later there will be conference workshops on topics including ethical trade standards and certification; the evidence for health benefits from organic food; the measures that the most committed farmers are taking to enhance wildlife; where the line should be drawn in defining organic standards for food processing; and finding the appropriate breeds for organic livestock production.
The technical seminars on Day 2 will cover soil management and crop quality; livestock husbandry and meat quality; dairy nutrition and milk quality; and strategies to avoid GM contamination.
As part of the day there will be a Soil Association Slow Food Lunch and Marketplace, a unique occasion where around 60 artisan producers from throughout the north of England will serve and sell fine foods and local specialities from the region.
For those who join, the day end at Newcastle United Football Club, where congress dinner including poetry reading, ceilidh, disco and late bar will be held.
Programme day 2 (PDF)
Day 3: Saturday 8 January 2005
On Day 3 the first plenum will focus on organic farming in next decade. Presentations will deal with policy, research, marked demands and public expectations.
Later, a plenum meeting will continue and widen the discussion on the relations between Soil, crop and human health.
In the afternoon parallel conference workshops will allow discussions on topics as diverse as supplying organic food to schools and hospitals; the pressures facing scientists whose research has raised health and environmental questions about GM food; the role of farms in reviving food culture; and reducing reliance on sugar and salt in organic food processing.
Parallel technical Seminars will among others deal with Understanding consumer motivations, various aspects of Agronomy & fertility and Seed production and protection.
Again there will be a Soil Association Slow Food Lunch and Marketplace for delegates to enjoy, this time featuring 60 artisan producers from all over the United Kingdom.
For those who want to join the congress will conclude with dinner at the Newcastle Civic Centre.
Programme day 3 (PDF)
Day 4: Sunday 9 January 2005
Day 4 will offer no fewer than 18 different conference workshop and technical seminar choices. The 10 workshops will include two on aquaculture and others on soil health and climate change; new models for local food initiatives and producer cooperation; replacing chlorine and nitrate in processing; and the role of farms in public education. The eight technical seminars will cover both husbandry and feeding regimes and health management for four different areas of livestock production - beef and sheep; pigs; dairy; and poultry.
Later in the day a plenary meeting will present current knowledge about the effect of livestock husbandry, nutritional and health management on the quality and safety of livestock foods. Particular emphasis will be on the nutritional and sensory quality characteristics of meat and dairy products, animal welfare, prevention of enteric pathogen contamination and the negative impact of excessive antibiotic/veterinary medicine use.
Programme day 4 (PDF)
The congress conclude with the closing address at 4.15.
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