UNITED NATIONS REPORT ON BIODIVERSITY LOSS

Here is a picture of one of Westcombe Dairy’s tractor drivers, Beardy, mowing a herbal grass ley at Milton Farm two days ago. 

Today, this herbal ley will be picked up by the forage harvester and carted away to a silage clamp at Manor Farm. 

It feels timely that we’re harvesting these multi-species herbal leys on the day that the UN releases a major report on the catastrophic loss of Earth’s biodiversity, placing much of the blame for this loss on the intensive nature of post-war agriculture and an intensive way of farming largely practised to this day. Although this herbal ley only has 15 different varieties of plant in it and is therefore hardly some untouched Somerset savannah, rich in cheetah and elk, it is a significant improvement on the one type of plant per field that is still bafflingly such a signature of modern agriculture. 

After this cut, the ley will re-grow and I’ll let it grow longer than is the norm and everyone will question whether a Lunatic should have been given a job at Westcombe, before I then strip graze the Milton herd through it. Letting it grow longer will let some of the plants flower (food for pollinators!) and will let the rich variety of roots from these different species plumb the depths of the soil.  Deep rooting plants, like the chicory, will tap into mineral reserves in the subsoil while also building-up soil carbon with their large taproot mass, which will eventually die and rot and create food for the soil’s galaxy of tiny life forms. Clovers will work with subterranean bacteria to turn atmospheric CO2 into nitrogen in the soil, which will help all the other plants grow without the aid of bagged nitrogen and its accompanying carbon footprint. 

Any bits the cows don’t eat will get trampled into the soil and aid in the build-up of organic matter.  This will help to make the land more resilient to flooding (acting as a sponge) as well as making it more resilient to drought (acting as a moisture reservoir). 

Of course, as much weighty research - particularly that from those great cheese producing nations France and Italy - points out, we must also not forget this diversity of plant life will cause the cows at Milton Farm to produce a milk with a greater potential for complexity of flavour and aroma in the resulting cheese. Making the end product and more enjoyable food to eat. Instilling a sense of value in the food as not some throwaway item. A food to be cherished, as all good food should be. And, if we are to try and stem the loss of biodiversity, all food should be good food. 

For too long agriculture has changed the face of the planet but, on the heels of this report, agriculture MUST start aping nature’s ways, otherwise there’ll be not much of a planet left. Now, I can only hope that the Milton cows like this herbal ley, otherwise we’re all stuffed!