History
The Galloway family has farmed in Theydon Mount and Stapleford Tawney at Mount Farm since 1932. The first farm sold away from the Hill Hall Estate, it was bought by Kenneth and Jessie Galloway.
In those days the farm was mixed with milking cows, pigs, sheep and chickens while growing some cereal crops for feeding to the animals. There were 12 workers employed on just under 300 acres.
Arthur Galloway began work on the farm aged 16 in 1935. At the time he was ploughing with horses, milking by hand and delivering the milk in churns on a horse and cart through the woods to North Weald every morning. It was very much subsistence farming in those days and Arthur would go out at night and shoot rabbits to take to Churches, the butchers in Epping, to bolster his income. He would regularly shoot 100 rabbits a night. He would deliver them on his push bike, not easy cycling 3 miles with rabbits strapped round his neck, over the handlebars and the cross and over the panniers at the back!!!
During the war the need for the country to produce its own food meant that farmers had to stay at home to run their farms. Then began the drive to produce more food to feed the nation which lasted until the late 1980’s when “Food Mountains” were seen to be a problem.
The drive for increased production led to development in plant breeding and farm machinery. Arthur was always interested in technical developments. That interest and the need to reduce the number of staff on the farm meant that he was one of the first in the area to buy a tractor and self-propelled combine harvester. Both were Massey Ferguson, the tractor being the earliest MF tractor utilising hydraulics.
In the late 1950’s the last of the animals were sold and the farm became entirely arable growing barley and a few potatoes. The land here is very heavy London clay with a high clay content which does not lend itself to growing root crops. Timeliness is everything and trying to cultivate when the conditions are too wet can lead to crop failure.
In the early 1970’s Stuart began his career in farming and joined Arthur at Mount Farm. The rotation was changed, Winter Wheat and Oil Seed Rape was introduced. Developments in plant breeding, artificial fertilizer, agrochemicals and farm machinery meant that yields increased and continued to do so through to the early 1990’s.
In 2009, after having studied Agriculture at Writtle & Plumpton College and after they're extensive working and traveling round Australia and New Zealand, Stuart’s sons, Tim and Alistair decided to come back home to help grow the contracting side of Galloway Farms. Sharing their father's and grandfather passion for technology the home farm and all Galloway Farms clients now benefit from up to date agricultural technology such as RTK guidance, variable rate seed, fertiliser and pesticide application and yield mapping and recording. This allows Galloway Farms to be at the forefront of modern day farming and to grow sustainable food to the highest of standards whilst holding the environment at the highest priority.