After our trip to Cambridge Botanic Garden in September, we were back in Fowlmere Village Hall for our October meeting, when we welcomed well-known Thriplow farmer – David Walston as our speaker. David was born at Thriplow Farm where he now lives with his wife and 2 young daughters. He is the 3rd – or even 4th – generation of Walstons’ at Thriplow farms.
The title of his talk was ‘Conservation and Farming in the Local Area’ and his audience of members and visitors enjoyed his informative and well-presented account of how farming methods have changed over the years.
David told us that he had very little interest in farming when he finished his degree, and indeed started his career in London as a wedding photographer! However, his interest in farming began to develop when he came back to live in the Thriplow area and started to breed Japanese Wagyu beef cattle on a small scale! However, Thriplow Farms – in common with most farms in the area – specialised in growing crops – and David became interested in how yields of wheat, beans, peas etc differed in sometimes adjoining fields. This led to him studying the soil, and he was awarded a Nuffield Farming Scholarship to explore this topic, having the opportunity to travel and expand his knowledge and understanding.
Crop yields were affected by the type of soil in different areas of the farm, and were not necessarily increased by the addition of fertilisers. In fact production costs were increasing with the increase of additives, but yields were dropping!
Over the years David has moved away from the traditional ploughing, and he gave us a fascinating overview of modern farming. He explained how leaving the roots of the old crop in the ground, and sowing the next crop directly after harvesting, leaves the nutrients in the roots to ‘feed’ and nurture successive crops. He showed some amazing pictures demonstrating how this method increases productivity as well as maintaining good soil.
We will now look at the Thriplow Farm fields with new understanding!
Sue Pinner