About Us

Organic Studies Centre in Cornwall
The Organic Studies Centre at Duchy College was established in 2001 as part of the Defra/EAGGF  funded Objective 1 project "The Organic Studies Initiative". The funding enabled the building of a resource centre at the College's Rosewarne site, employment of specialist staff drawn from a range of disciplines and a comprehensive programme of research, demonstration and training for the benefit of farmers and growers in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly and beyond. The Centre built on the success of the original organic farming programme at the Duchy College and is now firmly established as a major contributor to organic and sustainable farming, R&D and education, drawing funds from a number of external sources.

An important role of the Organic Studies Centre is to help and encourage farmers to participate in on-farm research. The OSC receives significant support from the local farming community, many of whom have shown a willingness to be involved in the various projects and activities. Although there is a regional focus to the projects, the research team also collaborates with other organisations involved in national and international organic research programmes.

The Organic Studies Centre is also part of Duchy College's Rural Business School, (RBS) and so provides specialist expertise to the broad portfolio of activites within the RBS.

The Rural Business School combines education, training, business support and applied research for rural industries. The RBS offers educational and developmental programmes ranging from one-day vocational workshops to foundation degrees in Agriculture, Rural Tourism, and Agri-Food. Most recently, the RBS is managing the Vocational Training Scheme (VTS) throughout the south west region, funded through the RDPE.

Through the VTS programme, training events and group extension activities are organised with the aim of developing expertise and skills in technical and business related activities relevant to land based businesses. The VTS programme employs a number of training co-ordinators, including a specialist organic farming training co-ordinator, whose task it is to ensure that the training needs of the farming community are met.