Iain Tolhurst

Managing Director

An organic producer since 1976 growing a wide range of mixed veg on 19 acres of land at Hardwick Estate in south Oxfordshire. The farm is now operated as a Community Interest Company and was the first to attain the Stockfree Organic symbol in 2004, no grazing animals and no animal inputs to any part of the farm for the past 37 years. The farm has more than three decades history of participative research projects looking at a range of subjects. Iain Tolhurst is well known within the organic movement having been active for over 45 years. He also works part time as an advisor for many horticultural farms nationally and internationally as well as various organic organisations delivering seminars and conducting farm walks. He is considered to be a leading expert on stock-free organic horticulture, and low carbon local vegetable production systems. His farm is a model of productivity centered on agroforestry, biodiversity and green manure systems. He has written several books about his experiences, the most recent being 'Back to Earth' self-published in 2016. In 2023 Iain was awarded an MBE for his services to agriculture.