David Walston
@OOOfarmer
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Lucky bastard. Hobby farmer. School Progress Prize 1995. Posh rating 2/5. All views probably someone else's.
Thriplow, England
Joined January 2013
Thriplow Farms Annual Report LI - 2024: The one with the purple trousers.
thriplow-farms.co.uk
At the age of 83, with rapidly worsening health, the death of my Dad on July 14 was both not a shock and a huge shock at the same time. Although I don’t believe that he wanted to die it was at least...
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Started drilling cover crops today, feels wrong in these conditions, but they have to go in some time. Very glad I have no OSR this year - would not be drilling that even if it was planned.
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Harvest 2025 completed. It’s been a weird one: very early start, some very late nights, and some long periods of rain. Ratings out of 5:. Wheat 7.55t/ha ⭐️.Spring Oats 4.45t/ha ⭐️⭐️.Spring Barley 3.68t/ha ⭐️. Worst harvest since 1997.
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Spring oats finished, very poor. Spring barley finished, even worse. One day of wheat left to cut, then we can move on to the next chapter.
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Disappointing field of KWS Dawsum on good land, 7.61t/ha. Obviously didn’t like following spring barley.
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🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨. SOUND THE TEN TONNE ALARM!. KWS Dawsum 10.01t/ha!. [shame it’s our third smallest field…].
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Have just snuck over 5t/ha on largest field of WPB Isabel, now to last field of spring oats.
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Harvest has restarted. Just finished 20ha of Isabel spring oats, a disappointing 4.67t/ha, I thought it looked like 5+.
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He very clearly says "Lower input costs, the *same* yields". Just plain making up stuff doesn't help our argument. Clearly reducing inputs and maintaining yield does equal more profit, and often too many inputs are used. Finding the sweet spot is the name of the game!.
Steve Reed (Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) is suggesting less inputs = greater yields for farmers. How exactly does that work for farmers? Complete ignorance.
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Started the worst harvest of my life, had ITV out, worked late. All in all, it's been a pretty good year, made possible by @SabrinaWalston being so good at CPR. Thank you! 💓💓💓
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Went to 'Dear England'; I'm not really a theatre person, but this was excellent.
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Friend's 40th birthday party, where I learnt that I'm not actually that into skiing any more, but had a good time nonetheless.
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Lots of driving for February half term European road trip with the kids. Basically an excuse for me to visit the Millau viaduct.
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Yet another trip to the USA, but opposite end this time. Pilgrimage to my Dad's favourite restaurant in the world (spoiler, it's not actually much good), my favourite restaurant (Waffle House), and then took in the AFC Championship game; an incredible sporting experience.
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Watched the kids make some very impressive gingerbread houses at Christmas, and had a quick trip to London, which included late night noodles.
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Had my Dad's memorial service, which fittingly included both West Mersea Natives and Champagne.
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A few weeks after coming home, back to Maine again with my nephew for a few days of house maintenance (and lobster).
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Finished harvest in time for a good, long, trip to the USA, taking the kids to NYC, and then up the coast to Maine, my favourite place on earth.
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