Nick Rebbeck, organic farmer and founder of Learning on the Farm in the UK, died at the end of last month after a long fight with cancer, according to the Soil Association.
Having purchased Bwlchwernen Fawr in 1975, Mr Rebbeck gave Patrick Holden, current director of the Soil Association, a tenancy of the farm for 14 years before they went into partnership in 1988.
When the partnership was dissolved in 2003, Mr Rebbeck established Learning On the Farm, dedicating all his energy to promoting farm visits for primary school children in western Wales to give them a first-hand impression of food being produced in harmony with nature.
At the Welsh Organic Producer Conference in 2008, he was awarded The Welsh Organic Farming Award, and in April 2010 he was presented with an award for lifelong service to the organic movement.
Patrick Holden commented: 'I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Nick for our lifelong friendship, for enabling me to gain a foothold in farming and subsequently releasing me to start working for the Soil Association; and of course for his fantastic contribution to the organic movement.'
