‘You can taste the land’: the Somerset farmer bringing wildflowers back to cheddar
Tom Calver has sacrificed milk yields to give his cows a more varied diet of plants and believes the result is better cheese and richer farmland
TL;DR
- Farmer Tom Calver is growing wildflower meadows instead of uniform grass for his cows to improve the taste of his cheddar cheese.
- This practice involves keeping fewer cows and allowing some fields to go ungrazed, which allows wildflowers to mature.
- Calver's research suggests that an organic, varied diet for cows leads to a healthier and more complex gut microbiome, which impacts cheese flavor.
- Despite a loss in milk production, Calver believes the 'meadow-flavored' cheddar tastes better and possesses a 'terroir' similar to wine.
- Growing deep-rooted wildflowers has also made the farm more resilient to drought.
- The approach is more expensive and challenging to market due to the varying taste of the cheese.
- Calver hopes his methods inspire other farmers to embrace diversity in their landscapes and food production.