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Landward episode 3 2025
Transcript
00:00This time I'm digging deep into the way of life here in the Northern Highlands.
00:09Welcome to Laughness.
00:30Hello from Lairg, known as the Crossroads of the North in the heart of Sutherland.
00:37It's a wild and rugged landscape of straths and glens, scattered with crofts.
00:43But with the lack of training opportunities for young people to work on the land, many of them head away.
00:50In a moment I'll be meeting someone who's bucking that trend.
00:53But first, here's what else is coming up.
00:57There's a change of direction for Cammie.
01:00Listen, strange one. I want to buy some cows.
01:03Cows? Cammie, you do sheep.
01:07Arlene does a sport of hands-free farming.
01:10Look at this!
01:12Don't make it look too easy. I tell people this is difficult.
01:16And Anne's gone to the docks.
01:19What a difficult!
01:27But first, the far north-west of Scotland.
01:39Home to many traditional crofting communities.
01:42And it's fair to say that lifestyle keeps places like Lairg alive.
01:48But with an ageing population, it can be really difficult for young people to get the skills required for a crofting life.
01:56But there's someone right here doing something about that.
01:59Go on then, girls.
02:01Cara Cameron runs her croft on the banks of Lochshin.
02:06She works it with her family, but she's also on a mission to share what she's made here.
02:16Come on.
02:17Cara, good to see you.
02:18Hello, welcome.
02:19As you're feeding the sheep here.
02:21Yes, trying to coax them in.
02:23And what's your background? Did you do farming and crofting before?
02:26No. I grew up on a council estate down in South Wales.
02:30So, agriculture, crofting, working with livestock, it was totally new to me.
02:35I knew nothing, so I actually went to Angus College in Abros.
02:41And I did a national certificate in agriculture there.
02:44And I basically applied everything that I'd learnt through my time at college to put it into here.
02:51So, a steep learning curve when you started?
02:53Oh, absolutely.
02:54If somebody had said to me at 16, what was I going to be doing?
02:57This was most definitely not something that was ever on that radar.
03:01But I just now look at the fact, you know, that I'm 50 and I'm doing this and I just love it.
03:06Absolutely love it.
03:12As her knowledge has expanded, so has Cara's croft.
03:16Starting out with three hectares 20 years ago, it now covers almost 400.
03:22And Cara's ready to pass on her experience to the next generation.
03:27So tell me, why are we walking down with a bucket there?
03:31Right, so, well, because the soils are starting to warm up and we're getting into spring, we want to do some soil sampling.
03:38Yeah.
03:39Soil sampling is just one of the many courses that Cara runs on the croft.
03:44In 2021, she launched a business teaching hands-on countryside skills.
03:51The social enterprise is aimed mainly at young people and can provide SQA rural skills qualifications.
03:59Here we do a lot of courses based around soil science.
04:03We run dry stone walling, fencing, introduction to sheep, introduction to wool, lots and lots of variety.
04:12For young crofters Grace and Chloe, the courses here offer valuable education beyond the classroom.
04:19School is mostly like learning indoors and there's not as much like actual experience.
04:25Whereas when I come out here, I can get like hands-on experience.
04:28I'm originally not from a farming background, but I really had an interest in it.
04:33I really wanted to learn about stuff and I really wanted to get into it myself.
04:37For Charlie, the courses have opened his eyes to all sorts of possibilities.
04:42My mum was showing me it on Facebook and I was really interested in it, so I just thought I'd come along and see what I like.
04:48A lot of my friends tend to leave and do apprenticeships and go work offshore and stuff, but I'm completely different.
04:55And for Josh, this gives him a direct route into working the land.
05:00It's something I've always wanted to do, always loved it, ever since I was a kid.
05:05And I just want to get myself involved now without having to spend the years at college and university.
05:13And this, this is a great way to do it.
05:15They're learning the true reality of everything that physically goes on.
05:19We are a working croft. We're not theory based.
05:22So, you know, they can come on a Friday, for instance, and whatever is physically happening, that's what they're involved with.
05:28It's true life, practical crofting and land based work.
05:32So, how do the young crofters class of 2025 view their future prospects?
05:38I really want to work as sheep because I really do like sheep. They're definitely my favourite.
05:42I really want to have my own croft animal deer with sheep and cows.
05:46I probably want to go and work on a farm or a croft and hopefully get my own one one day.
05:51I would very much like to go into mixed farming, follow the footsteps of my family and hopefully have my own one day and, yeah, just carry it on.
06:07It's great to hear that these students have set their sights on the land, helped in no small way by Cara's determination to pass on what she's learned.
06:19We live in quite a fragile rural area and I think it's really important that we actually really have to tackle depopulation.
06:26We have to protect the heritage of crofting and we actually have to provide opportunities for young people.
06:31I love working with young people, so for me to be able to pass on the skills and the training, I think is vital.
06:37From crofting on a small scale to farming on a large scale now.
06:49Some half a million acres of Scotland are given over to growing crops.
06:54That's a lot of fields.
06:56But this year on Landward, we're going to be following just one.
07:00It's in the borders and Arlene made her visit just as things were kicking off.
07:06It's spring, so that means it's time for edible farmers to start sowing.
07:15And Neil White is one of them.
07:17He's going to be planting a ton of seed here at Greennow Farm near Dunns.
07:22Hello, Elaine. How are you? I'm very well, thanks.
07:25Good to meet you, Neil. Good to see you. In the middle of your field?
07:27In the middle of the field, yeah. Well, this is the stackyard field, just in the back of my steading.
07:31Last year, this field was winter wheat.
07:33We've put in a cover crop, it's been grazed down and now we're ready to go again.
07:37So this is what we're putting in, it's Diablo spring barley.
07:40The barley will be used to make whisky.
07:42Now, I'm no expert, but this field doesn't look like it's ready for seed.
07:49Before we sow, surely this has to be ploughed?
07:52Well, normally it would be, yes, but I run a slightly different system here,
07:56where we don't plough any more. You don't plough?
07:59I don't plough any of my ground any more, no.
08:01We direct drill or strip till into the previous crop.
08:04I think we should maybe show you how it's done.
08:07Direct drilling involves very little disturbance to the soil,
08:11so there's no need for a plough, but it does require a special piece of machinery.
08:17You have a leading leg which moves the soil, clears a path,
08:21and then this is the main bit for the seed.
08:24Oh, this is the important bit.
08:25Yeah, so instead of moving into ploughed ground,
08:28this just puts it straight into that line that's been created,
08:31and then a consolidating tyre at the back.
08:33Just to press it down?
08:35To firm it down, the same as you would in your garden,
08:37maybe with your foot on the seeds,
08:39and it gives it that good start with the seed-to-soil contact.
08:42Seed hopper filled, it's time to get sowing.
08:47Right.
08:49With no need to plough, Neil's fuel consumption has dropped.
08:53Direct drilling can cut a farm's carbon footprint by up to 9%,
08:58while also improving crop yields.
09:01You know, you're not moving the soil,
09:03so you're not releasing that carbon.
09:05Also, you're keeping a lot more organic matter in the soil.
09:07It's put more resilience into the soil in the system.
09:10So we're ready to go.
09:12And there she goes.
09:16It's all mapped out on GPS,
09:19so this becomes hands-free farming.
09:22And then, don't touch anything, it does...
09:25It does everything from now.
09:27It does all the steering,
09:28and then it adjusts the seed rate according to the soil type
09:31as you're going along.
09:32Maybe he should check the GPS.
09:35Again, I'm no expert,
09:37but this doesn't look very straight.
09:41What's going on?
09:42Yes, well, you can sew the same direction year after year,
09:47if you like.
09:48You just have to watch if you get any consolidation
09:51or any compaction or highs and low bits.
09:54So what we tend to do is take an angle on last year's sowing
09:58and then work with that.
10:01So it takes any of the high ridges out.
10:03Today, we're sowing at an angle.
10:05Working this way,
10:07sowing onto unplowed ground with the remains of a cover crop still there,
10:11has meant a break with the traditional way of thinking for Neil.
10:16You tell yourself that smooth brown soil and dead straight green lines
10:22are a good crop establishment,
10:24and this...
10:26It has the straight lines,
10:28but it's not smooth.
10:30You know, it has a rough finish,
10:31and it is a sort of leap of faith for a while,
10:33but it is a mindset.
10:34And once you switch that off and think,
10:36it's actually about how healthy the crop is,
10:39I'm finding that every year,
10:42that, you know, my soils are improving,
10:44the workability of them are improving,
10:46and I think the crops are better and healthier.
10:53Neil lets me take a turn in the driver's seat,
10:56although I don't know why.
10:58Yeah, it's...
11:00Don't make it look too easy.
11:02I tell people this is difficult.
11:04Don't worry, your secret's safe with me.
11:08But Neil does want to get the word out about direct drilling.
11:13He thinks it has a place in many more fields across Scotland.
11:19I'm now using a third of the fuel to establish my crops.
11:23I'm using a third of the time,
11:24which was something I was striving for,
11:26but the soil benefits haven't been very noticeable.
11:31So I think when you put all those benefits together,
11:33it's definitely working for me and could work for other people.
11:38And we'll find out how this year's crop gets on
11:42when we return to Neil's Field later in the series.
11:45Remember, if you want to watch this programme again,
11:52or catch up with any of our previous episodes,
11:55go to the BBC iPlayer and search for landlord.
11:58Now, a few weeks back, Cammy gave us a tour
12:01of his brand-new farm in Ayrshire.
12:04And, of course, he's got huge plans for the place.
12:07Let's catch up with him now as he awaits the arrival
12:10of some new livestock.
12:15Now, I love being a sheep farmer,
12:17but at my new farm there's plenty of space for other livestock.
12:21They don't tell these girls,
12:23but I'm thinking about getting into cattle.
12:25I've done lots of homework
12:28and decided that a native breed,
12:31the beef shorthorn,
12:32is the one for me.
12:35And top breeder, John Scott,
12:37is the man to supply.
12:40Hi, John.
12:41Hi, how's things?
12:43Listen, strange one.
12:45I want to buy some cows.
12:47Cows?
12:48Cally, you do sheep.
12:50Oh, well, my thing definitely is sheep.
12:52I've no idea about cattle, but...
12:54I suppose there's only one way to learn.
12:55How many are you thinking of?
12:57Well, what about five?
12:58That'd be enough for a boy to start with, would it?
13:00Yep, no problem.
13:01Leave it with us.
13:02We'll get some nice ladies looked out for you.
13:04Thanks, mate.
13:05Cheers.
13:08I think I've just bought some cattle.
13:12They're a fantastic breed to work with.
13:14They're quiet.
13:15They look good.
13:16Oh, my darlings.
13:17In the 80s they were struggling.
13:19They're really popular again now.
13:20A lot of new breeders getting involved
13:22and establishing herds.
13:25Seems like a good choice for me then.
13:27As long as John picks the right five in-calf cows.
13:32I think it'll be a great option for Cammy.
13:34Get up, Joe.
13:35But he's got a very steep learning curve ahead of him.
13:37John's farm is near Tain in Rossshire.
13:47So it's a 220 mile trip south to me in Ayrshire.
13:54That gives me time for a few last minute touches.
13:58John gave me the lowdown on what the ladies like.
14:05Right.
14:06I've done what John told me to do.
14:07Hope they like it.
14:15Hopefully not long now.
14:17Cows, eh?
14:19Then the truck arrives.
14:21And it's no mean feat to navigate my yard.
14:25Some size of yoke.
14:26I will say that.
14:27It's an absolute beast.
14:29Some yoke.
14:31Cammy, how you getting on?
14:32You well?
14:33Is that door going good in there?
14:35I maybe should have been better at guiding you back.
14:37I saw this big kit.
14:44Oh, mate.
14:47That looks good.
14:50I'm quite fear of cattle so you're going to go in and get them out.
14:56It's a fair haul for the girls.
14:58But the boudoir awaits.
15:01Is boudoir the right word?
15:03Now it's probably a bad time to say it.
15:04I couldn't tell a good beef shot horned cow from a vagin.
15:07So they'll all look great to me.
15:10Come on, girls.
15:12Here we go.
15:17Aye, okay.
15:18They look hardy.
15:19Like hairy.
15:20They look like good hardy cows.
15:22Native breeds.
15:32Good fetal.
15:33They're in good fetal as well.
15:36Do you know my honest first thought?
15:37My honest first thought is
15:39I wish I'd bought more.
15:41They're fantastic.
15:42And they've got plenty of space in there.
15:44John's done me well.
15:45He's done me well.
15:47Right, girls.
15:49Catch you for the night.
15:50Relax in there.
15:53And we'll see you in the morning.
15:54It's the start of a new day.
16:04The morning after, the night before.
16:06Come and get a look at the girls here.
16:08All settled in.
16:09Relaxed.
16:10They've started tucking into their haylage.
16:12And they look fantastic.
16:14Calving in a few weeks.
16:15I don't know if I'm excited or nervous.
16:17Probably a mix of both.
16:19And I guess this means I'm now a sheep and beef farmer.
16:22My.
16:24Indeed you are, Cammy.
16:27And we'll find out how he deals with the new experience of calving
16:31alongside lots and lots of lambs later in the series.
16:34Earlier, Arlene saw the crops being sown in Neil White's field.
16:43They won't be harvested for quite some time.
16:46But what if you harvest 12 months of the year?
16:49Rosie's in Aberdeenshire now, visiting a farm that does just that.
16:57These fields on Stracathero Estate near Lawrencekirk
16:59are some of the 10% of Scotland's land fertile enough to grow crops.
17:05But they aren't given over to food production.
17:09They're growing energy.
17:12This root can be used to make table sugar or feed livestock.
17:18But this crop is going to produce gas.
17:22This sugar beet isn't going to be given to cattle or horses.
17:26It's going to feed this.
17:27An anaerobic digester.
17:31It can convert organic material into methane
17:36that's then fed straight into the gas network.
17:39Basically, it is a massive concrete cow.
17:42It's like three cow stomachs.
17:44Anything you can feed to a cow, you can feed to a digester.
17:47Ian Wilson, the farm manager, can explain how it works.
17:51It digests the same as a cow would do.
17:53And like a cow would produce methane, we're producing biomethane.
17:56And while the cows would burp it out, we're actually harvesting that methane.
18:00When burnt, the biomethane gas itself is effectively carbon neutral
18:06because the crops absorb and fix carbon while growing.
18:10It's incredible that you can get enough gas for 4,000 homes a year off of agricultural land.
18:15The digester is a hungry beast, eating as much as 2,000 dairy cows would need every year.
18:23And that's why the team have to harvest every month.
18:27We'll harvest sugar beet through till April, May.
18:31Then in May, we go into first cut silage in the first half of May.
18:35End of June, news of the week after Highland Show.
18:38We'll go into second cut silage, third cut silage and whole crop rye in July.
18:43Uh-huh.
18:45August and then into the standard cereal harvest through the combine.
18:48By the time that finishes September, we're right back at the start of the cycle again.
18:51We start lifting sugar beet in September.
18:53That must be pretty intense though.
18:57It is and it isn't.
18:59It's intense in that we're always at something.
19:01There's never a dull moment.
19:03But we probably don't have those real peak periods like most farmers.
19:07We have to be very careful here to not overdo it.
19:10It would be very easy just to work crazy hours 10 or 12 months of the year.
19:15But because of that, we just have to manage workload with probably having bigger machinery than some would have.
19:20We have probably more staff than this average size of farm would have.
19:24Now, of course, this never ending harvest is all about making money.
19:29Producing gas gives the estate a stable, reliable income that the fluctuating price of agricultural crops just won't.
19:38As managing director, James Campbell Adamson can explain.
19:43The real advantage from a business side of things is we're on a long term growing contract.
19:49So we get paid for the tonnage that comes in and we know what we're going to get paid every year.
19:53And we know what we're going to get paid over the next few years.
19:55And that was crucial from day one to allow us to invest in all the equipment that's needed for this production.
20:00But then it continues to allow us to reinvest in the business and the staff that work here.
20:06All well and good.
20:08But it raises the question of how we use Scotland's fertile land.
20:13Food security is a hot topic.
20:16So should our farmland be growing food or energy?
20:19Bear in mind that already nearly a third of our cereal crop isn't eaten, but goes to make whisky.
20:27And that doesn't include the crops grown for animal feed, something they also do here at Stracathero.
20:34Yeah, I completely understand that argument.
20:37We've never been a farm that has produced a lot of food for human consumption.
20:42But on the other hand, I would say that we're also facing an energy crisis in this country
20:45and continued pressure to produce energy from green sources.
20:50And what we're doing here is we are creating enough gas to feed 4,000 homes,
20:54which then is removing the reliant on other fossil fuels, which I think is a positive thing.
21:01Now, whether you agree with James depends on which side of the land use question you sit.
21:07But this year-round harvest seems to be working for Stracathero Estate.
21:12What does seem clear here is that energy production can create a profitable business and a predictable income,
21:21creating jobs in a rural area and keeping folk farming just in a very different way.
21:30Now, here on Landward, we love exploring the Scottish countryside, whether by foot, on bike or by horseback.
21:38But back in February, Anne got to see the Perthshire countryside from a very different perspective.
21:50Near Blairgowrie, at a place called Boland Trails, you'll hear a sound more often associated with the Arctic.
21:57This farm is home to 40 huskies, you might be able to hear some of them, who earn their keep pulling sleds when it snows and carts when it doesn't.
22:11We're going for a run today, Moscow?
22:13Yeah.
22:14Yeah.
22:23Moscow and his pals are owned by a couple, Mary and John Carter, both former world champion sled dog racers.
22:31Now, they offer customers the chance to experience a high-speed ride.
22:40We're running Anne today, Mary, and she's fairly light, so I thought we'd run the Zenon Tally Litter.
22:46Rod, Maggie.
22:48They are picking the perfect dogs to pull me, but how do they decide which ones?
22:53Well, when we're taking customers out, John, he always looks at the weights of the people who are coming along and he plans the team accordingly, so you've got to have enough strength in the team.
23:04And the other thing is good friends or friendly rivals really work well together.
23:08In the kennels, the dogs are beside themselves with excitement, ready to run, but Mary has complete confidence in her control when they're in the harness.
23:21John trains them up absolutely perfectly, so I can relax while I'm running the team, chat away to people, and I know that the dogs are going to do exactly what I say, because he's trained in right.
23:30You hope.
23:32Yeah, if it all goes wrong, we'll blame John.
23:35Yeah, blame John and Moscow.
23:36Oh, no.
23:40I think it's safe to say the dogs are keen to get going.
23:44And before I can catch my breath...
23:47OK, let's go!
23:49Oh, my God!
23:53Mary and John have created a network of track across their 200-acre farm, and the dogs are in their element.
24:00Well, they're happy now. They've quietened down now that we've taken off.
24:07The dogs share the farm with cattle and sheep, but they are all very used to each other.
24:13Pretty much all of these sheep have been born here, so they've been seeing them right since being lambs.
24:18But it can't be too warm.
24:23Trail rides are only available during the colder months of the year, so the dogs don't overheat.
24:28Middle of April hot is when we stop doing it at any sociable hours.
24:35Good dogs, that's very good.
24:37And how often would you take one team out? Would this just be one run for this team today?
24:42Yeah, so that would be their only run for the day, and when they're fully fit, they would go out maybe up to five times in a week.
24:50So, if they run two or three days on the trot, they then need to have a day or two rest.
24:57Wow, that's a big hole!
25:02Now, this is where you'll realise why I gave you the protective glasses, because you will get some mud flicked up off their feet.
25:09Yeah, I better keep my mouth shut.
25:11Cheat! Cheat!
25:13And what's cheat? Is that?
25:14Cheat means turn right.
25:16Turn right.
25:17In husky language.
25:18Sorry, Anne, you're going to get splashed!
25:21You OK?
25:22Yeah, I'll do it.
25:32Now, what I'm going to do, Anne, I'm just going to let them stop here.
25:35Whoa, kids, just wait.
25:36Just give them a second just to get their breath back.
25:38OK.
25:39And you'll see, when I command them to go, all of their bodies will drop down an inch or two, and they will just go in unison.
25:46It's like I'm the conductor of an orchestra.
25:49OK, let's go!
25:51Look at that!
25:52It's cool, isn't it?
25:53The obedience is incredible.
25:54Yeah, it's incredible.
25:55All just working together there.
25:57John has nothing to worry about.
25:59Their impeccable training is shining through.
26:02What a way to see the country, but it's time to return to the kennels.
26:15Wow, that was exhilarating.
26:22What an experience.
26:23It was amazing to watch the dogs working in unison.
26:27Their sheer power and strength and dedication and obedience.
26:31They were handled beautifully by Mary.
26:34It was incredible.
26:35I loved it.
26:36Have I got something on my face?
26:38And that brings us to the end of this programme.
26:46Next time we'll be travelling around the rugged coastline of our glorious country.
26:51At your service, the coastal community doing things for themselves.
26:56Do you need a helper to help you?
26:58You're very welcome.
26:59We're always looking for more volunteers.
27:00The remarkable story of the Kaithness Caves that became home.
27:05There was an incredible amount of births at this cave.
27:09Oh, look at these guys!
27:12And these seals needed a hospital.
27:14So this woman built one.
27:18So please join us for that and much, much more if you can.
27:21In the meantime, from all the Lambert teams around the country,
27:24and especially from me here in Sutherland.
27:26Thank you so much for your company.
27:28Bye for now.
27:54Bye for now.