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Documentary, This Farming Life S01E07 Scotland

The working day begins as the sun rises above the horizon and it ends long after the sun has set. Across Scotland and Northern Ireland, the struggles and triumphs of farmers and their families are documented to give a unique perspective into the lives of those providing the nation with milk, meat and more. Against a backdrop of some of Britain's most remote and beautiful locations, these farmers go about their day with unprecedented dedication as they tend to their animals, harvest their crops, and care for their own families, as they endeavour to keep everything on the farm running smoothly during often testing times.
#FarmingLife #ThisFarmingLife #Scotland
Transcript
00:00Across some of the most beautiful and remote landscapes of the British Isles.
00:06This is not a bad office, is it? You know, it looks like.
00:09Scotland's farmers carve a living.
00:13Everything has a time and a season. Nature doesn't stop.
00:17Breeding sheep and cattle.
00:19There's a lot of old friends here. They've come to the end of their working life.
00:22Quite a sad day.
00:25Come on.
00:26Bringing new life into the world.
00:30And battling with the elements.
00:34They're all cute in their own way.
00:36And especially if you end up on your plate as a lamb chop, yum.
00:40Over a year, five very different families let cameras onto their farms.
00:46Hell of a size of nuts on them.
00:48And into their lives.
00:50To share their struggles.
00:52I don't know why you want the floor with us.
00:53Do you need to do this?
00:55And their triumphs.
00:57Look at my baby!
00:59He's alive!
01:01As they try and turn a profit in testing economic times.
01:05That's just depressing that, really.
01:07There's cause for celebration.
01:09Gorgeous.
01:11And a time to reflect.
01:13I feel sad that I haven't provided the next generation to carry on here.
01:17But it's never dull.
01:19Don't let him go!
01:21It's not a job.
01:22It's a way of life.
01:23It's not a job.
01:24It's a way of life.
01:25It's not a job.
01:27It's not a job.
01:28It's not a job.
01:29I think it's a job.
01:30It's a job.
01:31All these things just like you're rich.
01:32Every day, always.
01:33I love it.
01:34It's a job.
01:35It's a job.
01:36It's a job.
01:37It's a job.
01:38The job of life.
01:39It's a job.
01:40It's a job.
01:41It's a job.
01:42It's a job.
01:43It's a job.
01:44February in Scotland, winter still has a hold in the hills, but the season is starting
02:04to change. I don't particularly like the winter months. I really miss the sun. I like the sun.
02:16I like to feel the sun in my back. I always feel springs around the corner when you start to see
02:22the bulbs coming out. The snow drops are popping through and then you'll get the crocuses and the
02:26daffodils and that's when I feel, oh, spring's just about there and you feel just the brightness.
02:34The seasons of the year, they are very linked with farming. You all have particular jobs you
02:40have to do. You're starting to prepare for lambing time and you're sorting the ones you're going to
02:44keep. So everything is linked and I like that. In central Scotland, near Loch Lomond, Anne and
02:57Bobby Lennox run a 5,000 acre hill farm. Bobby is away for two days, attending farmers union meetings,
03:05leaving Anne alone to run things. Bobby has, he's away sky, oh sorry, he's away to the NFU AGM and
03:14meetings at St Andrews today. So he's away. So I'm, I'm the sole farm worker. I'm in charge.
03:21Haha. I'm just doing the feeding out while he's away. Morning. How are you today? This morning,
03:29Anne has over 600 mouths to feed. Morning. How are you today? You're out here on your road,
03:44you just talk to them. You don't answer back, you see, and you have the best kind of conversation.
03:49Hello girls. Hello cabbies. These are, are held cows. These are new cows we got last June. These
03:56are beef. They'll go for your nice bits of steak and what have you eventually.
04:00I flooded it. I just have to sit and wait for a minute or two. I went and flooded it. This is it when Bobby's away.
04:12I'm a cook and cleaner, I keep telling him. I'm not technically minded. I'm just going to feed Charlie.
04:20Charlie. He's our old Charlie bull. We're very unique with their names. They just get called Charlie, all of them.
04:28And then this is, this is greedy blacky sheep and they come and nick Charlie's feeding. He's a good lad,
04:36but he's old, he's done. He's waiting to go off to the, the abattoir.
04:4312 year old Charlie will sell for around a thousand pounds for slaughter.
04:4612 year old Charlie.
04:50Their farm is spread over 5,000 acres and their herd of blue greys and blue grey crosses are out in the hills.
05:00Come on.
05:02Morning girls.
05:04These hybrid cows are incredibly hardy and capable of surviving on relatively poor grazing throughout the year.
05:11Yes, and over, over late, over late.
05:13Oh, here we go.
05:19I think they're lovely big creatures. Lovely animals.
05:23I was brought up in a dairy farm. Well, it was a mixed farm. We had dairy, beef, sheep, pigs, hens.
05:28I probably have a rosy-eyed view of it because I enjoyed it. I liked the cows. I liked, I liked the milking,
05:33but I wasn't getting up at five o'clock in the morning to go and milk cows regularly. Hi girls.
05:41There you are now. Don't shove.
05:45Look where we are today. It's beautiful. We live in a lovely area.
05:50In a wet day, you might not see that when you're out here. But in a good day like today, you can see it. It's lovely.
05:59I've got these ladies to talk to. Haven't we girls? Hello.
06:03Bye girls.
06:15Next job, the black-faced sheep. Back from their winter grazing.
06:20This is the fattening lambs. So hopefully they're eating and put on weight. And then they'll leave. Bye-bye.
06:29Lamb chops, leg of lamb, mint sauce.
06:31The Lennoxes make most of their income from the sale of prime lambs.
06:36These are young lambs under 12 months old, raised purely for their meat.
06:42They send about 600 animals to the abattoir each year.
06:45Well, this is our crop. This is our harvest. This is what we've got to live on for the rest of the year.
06:52What money we get when these are sold in the next couple of weeks, the next month, six weeks.
06:57That's what we have to live on for the rest of the year. And we've got no idea what we'll get for them.
07:03There's little financial security for tenant farmers like Ann and Bobby.
07:07Each lamb sells for between 45 to 60 pounds, depending on its weight and the current market price paid per kilo of meat.
07:17We put the tops out. We go out with the lambs. We're hoping to come out with the ewes to have lambs in the spring.
07:23We've no idea how many lambs are going to have until we scan them.
07:27And then once these lambs are born and they end up here, we've got absolutely no idea any time of what price we'll get.
07:35And our costs are going up all the time. I mean, the supermarkets have got too much power.
07:42And the government gave them that power. They didn't have to, but they did.
07:49Supermarkets set the prices. They can stop contracts and change and go and buy goods and food and items from other countries that are not of the same quality.
08:01And things are not, they're not as good, in my view.
08:16On the other side of Scotland, north of Aberdeen, Martin Irvine and his family are also tenant farmers.
08:23They rent a 240-acre farm. Martin has two loves. One is breeding and selling pedigree limousine cattle.
08:34It's just a nice site, really. Everything's happy, content.
08:40The other is fiancée Mel, who's recently converted Martin to the financial benefits of sheep.
08:46Whatever happens in the next five weeks, depends how good a spring we'll have at Lamming, so this is an important bit.
08:54Lots of babies, hopefully. Yeah.
08:56They bought 130 ewes, and along with some new tups, they quickly set about increasing the flock.
09:05Done. Where there's a willy, there's a way.
09:11Now it's February. The sheep are about six weeks from Lamming, and cattle farmer Martin is learning some new skills.
09:19Now every day, we have to feed the sheep's concentrates. It's just to boost our feed intake, a bit of extra protein, and keep them in good condition.
09:30Martin is hopeful that the move into sheep will be profitable. Signs look good so far.
09:39We scanned these last month, so there's a lot of triplets, there's a lot of lambs. More lambs, really, the better.
09:45Trade's good. I could probably raise them about £50 a head if I sell them right now.
09:52There's a good market for the sale of ewes already in lamb.
09:56Some farmers want to quickly boost numbers, and also introduce new genes into their flock.
10:03So we could make probably £6,000 of profit, or we could lamb them make even more profit, but
10:08in our head, we've said we're going to lamb them, so we're going to lamb them, so that's what we'll do.
10:12So we've fed our sheep at home, and now it's about a three-mile run up to the Shenwell, the estate sheep. We'll go feed them.
10:25Mel has also taken on a contract to manage 500 lean cross sheep, the estate they rent their farm from.
10:32We needed some extra money, and the state offered us a job, so we took it.
10:41You can hear them, they're looking for it, they know it. As soon as they see me coming about,
10:44hear me coming about, they know I'm coming.
10:47Christmas January is a hard bit, because we're only halfway through winter.
10:50When you get to this time of year, the weather's picking up, the days are getting longer, it feels better.
10:55You kind of get that kind of thrill of, spring's come in, here we go, and hopefully we get another good summer.
11:03I used to hate sheep. I remember when Mum had the blue-faced letters at home when I was younger.
11:08I just had nothing to do with sheep, I hated sheep. Stupid things, and just didn't like them. I've changed, yeah.
11:14Martin's main passion is his beloved limousons. Mel, who grew up on a farm, has also been known to keep a few mementos of her favourite animals.
11:32I do love sheep. It's ridiculous. Yeah, you get to know them, and I just took photos of sheep all the time, it seemed.
11:43Look at this one.
11:51That was another sheep show.
11:54My whole wall was filled with sheep photos.
12:04In fact, I didn't have any boy band photos at all, they were all sheep.
12:09I grew up on a dairy farm to start with, and then onto a mixed livestock farm.
12:23And people say that, you know, sheep, you know, they're all white, and they've all got white faces,
12:28and you can't tell which one's which, but you could pretty much tell you, you know, that one had twins that year,
12:35or she had triplets, or we struggled lambing hard, or something happened.
12:38So, sheep are just, I don't know, just love sheep.
12:45Look how skinny I used to be.
12:48I just met Martin, and it went off the block.
12:52Soon, Mel will have around 200 more lambs to add to her family album.
12:57150 miles away, in Western Scotland, husband and wife team Sybil and George McPherson farm sheep and cattle across 15,000 acres of mountainous terrain.
13:24Their land is also home to wild red deer.
13:32Native to Scotland, the red deer population has more than doubled since the 60s, to around 400,000.
13:42Sybil and George are part of a local deer management group, and to help control numbers, they run deer stalking trips.
13:49Well, we're out to do some red deer stalking with some Belgian clients.
13:56This is the first day, just fueling up the arc already to go out the mountain.
14:00A wee bit of concern, there's not enough for it to win today, but we know we can try our best.
14:05George runs these shooting trips every year.
14:08It's a slight income for the farm, but it's more a management tool for the farm as well.
14:13If we have too many red deer on the farm, it's not good for them, and it's not good for us either, because it's overpopping the gracing of the sheep.
14:22Right. What do I need?
14:24Stags can be hunted between July and October. At this time of year, February, it's the hinds.
14:36It's important to cull the weak deer, because nobody likes to see dead animals about the place.
14:40You know, it's far better to cull it, rather than letting the beasts just perish and die in the mountain,
14:45and then all they'll do is feed a fox.
14:50Stalkers typically pay about £300 a day to hunt and shoot deer, and the local game dealer gets a freezer full of venison.
14:58Morning. You good?
15:01Today, they have returning visitors, a group from Belgium.
15:06Really exciting to have our Belgian friends over again for the stalking.
15:10They've been coming for a great number of years, and they've become family friends.
15:14We've been very lucky with the people who do come here, both for the stag and the hind stalking,
15:20that most of them have come for many years, and we've built up friendships over the years.
15:24I think you've been a bit cheeky, darling.
15:26I'm cheeky, yes.
15:28Because I've come here for 20 more years, and I brought my friends, I invited them, I talked about it,
15:34and they were immediately very happy to come here and see you.
15:39Before they go out on the hills, George needs to check the accuracy of both the stalkers and their guns,
15:50with a bit of target practice.
15:53Always have a test shot in the morning.
15:56A lot of people think it's easy to pull a trigger and kill an animal.
15:59It's not that flippin' easy, and a lot of folk have maybe shot roe deer, and then they go into this big red.
16:05It's a completely different beast to shoot.
16:08The cocky ones usually make the biggest mess of things.
16:12Right, Alistair!
16:19Alistair, a neighbour of George's, checks the target and reports back.
16:23It's a little above the blue, but straight above.
16:30But it's good.
16:32This is maybe slightly less than an average shot on the mountain,
16:36but if the guns are set good for this, we're quite confident they could be able to do a shot on the hill.
16:42I've always found with Johan and his friends and his family, they're very able shots.
16:48That's better. That's better, right?
16:54Right, Ali!
16:56Do you want another one? Are you happy with that?
16:57I'm happy with that.
16:58Goodo!
16:59Yeah, perfect!
17:01Excellent!
17:02George is confident that the stalkers have the skill needed for a clean kill,
17:07so they head out into the hills in search of their quarry.
17:18In the northeast of Scotland, near Inverness, sheep farmer John Scott runs three farms,
17:28covering 4,000 acres.
17:32Since he joined his father in the family business,
17:35he's increased the original flock of 800 sheep to 4,000.
17:40Most are commercial crossbreeds, but he also has 400 pedigree ewes.
17:45His lambing season starts next month, but this morning, he's on the way to the vet,
17:52with a pregnant belt axe, a valuable pedigree. She needs immediate attention.
17:59She's got a slight prolapse that she has had for a few days, which I wasn't too worried about,
18:03but she's trying to lamb as well, and I put my hand inside. I thought, no,
18:09it's going to be a bit of a struggle, I think, to get the lambs out naturally.
18:12We'll go and see what the vet thinks, but she's quite a high-value belt axe ewe that we bought in lamb this year.
18:19She's the first ewe we've got to lamb, and she's carrying triplets, so fingers crossed.
18:24John paid £756 for this ewe called National Treasure, so he doesn't want to lose her or her triplets.
18:40So you can see the slight prolapse there. That looks quite clean. That's a little water bag,
18:56but it doesn't look discoloured.
18:57A prolapse can happen late in pregnancy, particularly when multiple lambs are creating pressure inside the uterus.
19:07John's vet is Paco, who left Barcelona for Scotland 14 years ago.
19:11How long have you been a vet now, Paco?
19:1515 years. Loved every minute of it.
19:20Most of the time.
19:22They're a very long-suffering team in here.
19:23The prolapse means that National Treasure will need a caesarean if her triplets are to be delivered safely.
19:32So all we're doing just now is just securing it so that we can work his magic.
19:51Once they settle, they get...
19:54It is a stressful. We cannot deny that.
19:56You know, just... But what we're doing is just to help her.
20:00If we were not to do that, the lambs would likely die.
20:05And she would lie. She could die, too.
20:08So that goes into a painkiller that will be kicking in, you know, just in 15, 20 minutes.
20:15If we were to give her a full anesthetic, there is a further risk for the mother.
20:21And the lambs inside could struggle as well to wake up.
20:27That's assuming and hoping that the lambs are still alive.
20:35It's one of the things that, as a vet, you do because you know that if you don't do this,
20:39they're going to die, you know, and that's why you want to do it sort of pretty promptly and,
20:46you know, just get them out, you know, and then look after the mother.
20:52Although I will say that in any caesar, and probably that's something that a farmer doesn't
20:58sometimes agree, the priority for us is mum.
21:02You know, just mum is the one that we already know she's fine.
21:06We already know that she's alive and well, so the priority is his mother.
21:20I'm not brilliant with blood.
21:24I haven't passed out yet, am I?
21:26No, not yet.
21:27It's not my favourite thing.
21:34And now we have to find them.
21:38Paco still can't tell whether the lambs are alive.
21:45Rebecca, can you give me a hand?
21:47Look at this, so is the nervous, nervous weight.
21:52Paco needs to be careful.
21:55The muscle there in sheep is very thin.
21:57He must be sure not to damage her stomach wall, or the three tightly packed lambs she's carrying.
22:04You want to hold and see what it allows?
22:05How old are you?
22:07Strong, alright, okay.
22:17That's a leg he's got there.
22:20That's one coming backwards.
22:23One, two, three.
22:26Yours it is.
22:29It's alive, guys.
22:30Is it alive?
22:32Yeah.
22:32Are you ready for another one?
22:33Yes.
22:36Ready, second one.
22:42Second's alive.
22:43Okay, we've got a boy and a girl so far.
22:49There's always a worry that they're a wee bit premature like this, that they're not fully developed properly, that...
22:54I'm a little bit worried about this one.
22:57This one's stronger than this one.
23:00So what we'll do is we'll get them home and we'll get them under a heat lamp.
23:05You know, just look after them, make sure they've got plenty of feed.
23:13It's alive too.
23:15Yeah.
23:15Keep moving.
23:20That's another girl.
23:24Check there's nobody else in there.
23:27It's not often that he leaves one in there, but...
23:32If I were to choose, I probably would have had from, from buying in a new bloodline, I would have chosen to have a couple of ewe lambs and a tap lamb.
23:37That's what we've got, so I'm pretty chuffed with that.
23:39It's also exciting, that's the first lamb born of the season.
23:43It's also a little bit daunting.
23:45That's one down.
23:48It's just starting to get up, look.
23:51Doesn't take long before they want to get up and get a suckle.
23:54Two females and one male, all alive.
23:57It's a good result from a valuable pedigree year with.
24:02It's always exciting, um, I always find it exciting getting the first lamb of the season.
24:07It's even better than they're alive.
24:08No, it is exciting.
24:11It's, um, yeah, to start a spring.
24:18The first 48 hours of life are the most perilous.
24:21One of the females is particularly weak.
24:26And as they're all premature, John will need to keep a close eye on them.
24:34also preparing for lambing.
24:41Also preparing for lambing is Martin Irving.
24:56Over a year ago, he and fiancé Mel took on the contract to manage the sheep owned by
25:03the local estate.
25:06The offer came at a good time for the farm's finances.
25:09There's not enough work at home for two people, but it's too much for one.
25:14The farming has been tight and it's going to be a rocky next couple of years, probably
25:17with the beef.
25:18This extra money is going to come in handy.
25:20Plus, I have a wedding to pay for, so I'll need it.
25:24Martin and dad, Stevie, are adapting one of the estate's cattle barns into a lambing
25:29shed.
25:30This morning, we're just getting a lambing shed pretty ready.
25:33Another month for lambing, but like I say, we've got a spare time this week.
25:37It's only a spare time, we'll just come up here and do all the odd jobs.
25:40So this is us building our lambing pens.
25:43We're due to start lambing about the 25th on paper.
25:48So the sheep will come in probably about the 15th to 20th of March, depending on the weather.
25:54So they'll all come into their shed, so it'll be twins in here, triplets in there, singles
25:59in the next shed, and all the caravan, it'll come into the centre pass here, and I'll sleep
26:05in the caravan for a month.
26:07We've got 515, 520 to lamb, so you're looking nearly a thousand lambs.
26:18That's the worst bit of the sheep as a lambing, just because it's so intense.
26:23But then, that's when you see your reward, the lambing, see how good your year's been and
26:28how good your next year's going to be.
26:32There's one other change Martin and Stevie want to make to the newly converted cattle
26:40shed.
26:41Last year, with our first lamb in here, we realised it's a draughty wind, and it drives
26:49right through the middle of the shed, so this year, we've got the estate to invest in some
26:54gale breakers.
26:55What am I doing wrong?
26:56Help!
26:57The first thing's going to be the worst thing.
27:00By the time we get that opened up, it'll be like a sail, so there's a good chance me
27:02and Dad will go flying.
27:03I'm going to lose it.
27:04Got it.
27:05Me and Dad, we're stuck together every day on the farm, but I enjoy working my way.
27:14Dad, to be honest with you, Dad's a big kid.
27:17He is the biggest kid in the lot, to be honest, and he likes a good laugh with caper, we mess
27:24about.
27:25They've got pink here.
27:27Too short.
27:28I've got a ratchet closer so I can pull it tight myself.
27:33That does.
27:34Do you all right?
27:35Here we go.
27:36Stupid things.
27:37We do have a lot of bar now, and we don't worry about things too much, even if there is
27:49things we should be worrying about and stressing about, we just don't let it get to us and we
27:53just kind of laugh it off.
27:54When you're happy when you know it, clap your hands.
27:56Eh?
27:57What you said?
27:58When you're happy when you know it, clap your hands.
28:01When you're happy when you know it, clap your hands.
28:04It's getting too many of these all day.
28:06Here!
28:07I think the first big puffin will be gone.
28:14Squint!
28:18Come on Zebedee, is that level?
28:20I think it's great working at home with your family, to be honest.
28:24Happy?
28:25Dad is like my best friend.
28:27No, no, no, no.
28:28Ha!
28:29Ha!
28:30Ha!
28:39In the hillsides of Argyle, above the Macpherson's Farm, the red deer are proving elusive.
28:44Anderson's farm. The red deer are proving elusive.
28:49The Scottish weather is against the stalkers.
28:52Yeah, well, just because it's so misty and the way the wind is,
28:55I want to cut back along just so far here and then we'll go into a river
28:58and we'll go up, split between the two mountains,
29:00and then we'll come back down the other side into the wind
29:02and see what we can see that way.
29:04Hopefully, the heat of the day comes in, the mist will lift and give us more vision.
29:08That's the plan attached us now, isn't it?
29:11February is near the end of the deer stalking season.
29:15I like to leave it slightly later than a lot of folk
29:19because you get a far better chance of picking out the older hinds.
29:24The older they are, the longer their noses are,
29:26the hairy their necks are, the bigger they're drooping their bellies.
29:30It's experience, eh?
29:33We've got to take so many numbers off to keep the numbers just about right
29:36because if we get too infested, it's just no good for the deer
29:38and it's no good for the sheep. You need to keep a balance.
29:40Do you see them?
29:44All the hoodies are.
29:47We're just talking, we might have to go into the trees to come down
29:49because the wind's very bad for us just now
29:51and come back out through the other side.
29:55Hey, I think that might be a plan.
29:58Come on.
29:58What happened there?
30:04Broke my leg.
30:06I knew where to walk, but I didn't think you needed a wee lie down.
30:09Four hours in,
30:22they finally get close enough.
30:28Yeah, perfect.
30:31Vucan, Johan.
30:35There we go.
30:36After a long day in the hills,
30:40they return to George and Sybil's farm.
30:45We've been out, we've stretched our legs, we've tried our best.
30:48The deer won today, really.
30:51Yeah?
30:51Yeah, you don't have to shoot.
30:52You don't, it's not a killing game.
30:54Do you know what I mean?
30:55The idea is we shoot every day.
31:00That's what makes it.
31:00That's just a wee camera-in-ship after we finish up
31:03and get a dram and we come in and a blether and then...
31:06You know, it's just, it's just, it's just, that's what it's all about.
31:08That's, it is for us anyway.
31:10To keep friends coming back to help us manage the deer as well.
31:15As well as give us some lolly.
31:17The guests do pay for the privilege of coming out to shoot a deer
31:24and we do have an income from the venison.
31:26But it's not, the financial part of it isn't hugely important to our business,
31:31but the management of the deer herd certainly is.
31:35But it will be a small chicken.
31:37It will be a small chicken.
31:39And not in euros.
31:40In the north of Scotland, near Inverness,
31:54John Scott is back at the farm with his pedigree, Yew,
31:58and her premature triplets.
31:59John's dad is on hand to help with the newborns.
32:08The first of this year's anticipated crop of over 6,000 spring lambs.
32:20Just got them under a bit of heat to make sure they've got plenty of body warmth.
32:23Yeah, and I'm going to go and get some colostrum made up for them.
32:29She's got a little bit, but she hasn't got much.
32:32The mother's first milk, or colostrum, is full of vital proteins and antibodies.
32:38All the goodness a lamb needs to grow and develop.
32:45At the moment, I'm digging out last year's lambing kit,
32:50which should have all been, of course, sterilised and ready to go again.
32:53But we're just not quite ready.
32:56Normally, this place just runs like a clockwork and everything's ready to go.
33:02And as we get into lambing proper, this place will be spotless.
33:06We'll just be caught out slightly this morning.
33:10It's essential that lambs and calves get their colostrum in the first years of life.
33:17Very important for their developments and all the right nutrients.
33:20And normally, they would get it from the mother.
33:21But in this situation, where we've got, you know, slightly premature and the mother just
33:28hadn't got a huge amount of milk, it's important that we just substitute it.
33:35So that's what we're going to do.
33:36They're quite weak.
33:39I'm a little bit worried about them.
33:44So we're just going to use this tube to get some colostrum into this little lamp.
33:48I've picked the smallest one first.
33:56That's the one I'm most worried about.
34:00Just a wee bit concerned about them.
34:03They're not as lively as they were when they were in the surgery.
34:05Give them colostrum.
34:12I've got a heat lamp on them.
34:13She's been quite attentive.
34:17There's nothing much I can do, really.
34:21We'll just have to hope.
34:22The second-born lamb is still weaker than her two siblings.
34:29Almost half of lamb deaths happen within the first two days of birth.
34:34So the next few hours will be critical.
34:36Sibyl and George McPherson are both big players in the world of Scottish sheep breeding.
35:02This evening, they're co-hosting a competition in Dalmary.
35:06Where people's knowledge of black-faced sheep will be put to the test.
35:11It's called stock judging.
35:13It's a case of different breeders in the area bringing four sheep.
35:16And there's looking a very good turnout.
35:18I think we're maybe of over 100 competitors.
35:20Which is good considering where we live in this vast area.
35:23But I mean, there's folk travelled from afar to be here.
35:27Which is good.
35:28It's a very important social event for lots of farmers.
35:33Farming is quite a solitary existence.
35:35And certainly during the winter months, people are quite isolated.
35:39It's also very interesting from the sheep breed point of view that people bring along the best of their livestock.
35:46And then we have a little competition.
35:47A warm welcome to our judge this evening, Kevin MacKinnon from Lundfruin.
35:55So let's go underway with the first class, which is Gimmers from Somboa.
36:00Gimmers from Somboa.
36:02Judge Kevin is an estate manager and shepherd from the Isle of Skye.
36:05He must use his expertise to rank four sheep in order of merit.
36:11Assessing body shape, head and eyes, quality of coat.
36:15To win, the competitors in the audience must match his expert selection in eight different rounds.
36:23First of all, maybe you're looking at its coat.
36:34The coat has got how it was on its legs.
36:37But everyone's got their own pet idea about what is the most important thing or what falls.
36:42Everything's got a fault, however little it is.
36:45And it depends where you want to rate that.
36:51We'll put a tape on the horn of the sheep so that the judge judges them red, blue, yellow, green.
36:59And the idea is to match up with the judge's decisions.
37:03Each colour has a letter set against it.
37:06And the judge's place them Y-B-A-X.
37:12And that's the first class I've got, right?
37:15Oh, well done, George.
37:17Good for him.
37:19Stock judging's a big part of agriculture.
37:21It's how young farmers learn.
37:23Instead of judging the sheep as you would judge yourself,
37:26you have to try and guess how the judge would judge them.
37:30That's the act of stock judging.
37:33Well, how do you pick a boyfriend?
37:34How do you pick a girlfriend?
37:35Ken, you know what I mean?
37:35Everyone's got their choice, their favourites.
37:37Everyone's got their type.
37:42It's quite a big ask, actually, to be asked to judge to stop judging
37:51because there's a lot of very good sheep at it.
37:55And it's a fair old pressure.
37:56There's quite a lot of the top breeders here tonight.
37:58Kevin will be feeling the pressure a wee bit.
38:02We don't usually give the judge too much stick.
38:04I did one time when Sybil was doing that.
38:07She was the master judge.
38:09Had a wee outburst and I got a big row for it.
38:13It's quite a tricky thing.
38:14Some people take it very seriously.
38:15Others don't.
38:17Some people take it too seriously, in my opinion.
38:20And because the scoring is so complicated,
38:22people who've maybe got three or four classes absolutely correctly
38:25can actually be beaten by somebody who's only got one class correct
38:28but been nearly there with the rest.
38:30And the judge has changed his card twice, but it...
38:39It's B-X-Y-A.
38:45B-X-Y-A.
38:48Sorry, Kevin, I just couldn't resist that chance.
38:50After the last round, each competitor's scoring is totted up.
38:57It's not all about the winners, it's about taking part.
39:02There are trophies and prizes for the winners.
39:05Markman Team Shield is Jim Fairley, David Murray and Stephen Too.
39:10Well done.
39:21Right, and a big thank you goes to our judge for tonight.
39:24I'm sure you'll agree that he had a difficult task
39:27even if you did not agree with him.
39:29So, Kevin, thank you very much for being our master judge.
39:33It's the Royal Northern Spring Show in Aberdeen.
39:57An annual agricultural show and pedigree cattle sale
40:00attracting around 5,000 visitors.
40:06Are you going up there to wait?
40:08Yeah, I'll go for a minute.
40:10The event gives Martin Irvin a second chance
40:13to sell two of his top limousine bulls.
40:17This is imperial and ice that we never sold at Starland.
40:20So, we're back again, and hopefully we'll get them sold today.
40:27There's a bit more atmosphere today than it was at Starland.
40:35As usual, imperial was put through a vet's inspection
40:38before the auction.
40:40His teeth and testicles made the grade,
40:44but not his walking.
40:47I think so.
40:50Is that bad, Steve?
40:52Is he that bad?
40:54One of Martin's superstar bulls.
40:56He was disqualified.
40:59I can't show him or I can't sell him.
41:01They're saying he's slightly lame.
41:03Ice made the auction,
41:05but failed to reach his reserve price.
41:08It was a disappointing day for Martin.
41:15He's here to try again for a sale.
41:17He's timed it so that these two 21-month-old bulls
41:21are in prime condition for this February auction.
41:23He needs a buyer today.
41:27He needs the income.
41:28Hopefully, this afternoon, we'll have two sold bulls,
41:34a cheque, and an empty lorry on the way home.
41:36That would be ideal.
41:37If we could get an average of four for the pair,
41:38I would be delighted.
41:40The worst comes to worst.
41:41An average of three, three ahead,
41:43which is just covering our costs.
41:45Ideally, I'd get more.
41:46I'd like more for them.
41:47They're good bulls, but on a day,
41:49just take what you get.
41:50£4,000 as his target,
41:54Martin prepares the bulls for the judging round
41:57before the auction itself.
41:59A first or second prize ticket here
42:01should lead to a better sale price later on today.
42:04I'm a wee bit nervous.
42:11This is just a show.
42:13It's always good to get tickets for selling,
42:16but it's the next part that really counts
42:19to get these boys sold, so...
42:22I'm excited and a bit nervous.
42:26First and second would be great.
42:29Am I going in there now?
42:30Aye, hold it later.
42:34The spring shows a benchmark for us,
42:36north-east of Scotland.
42:38For a lot of farmers,
42:39it's our first date of the year, really.
42:41We went through January and Christmas,
42:43and you come into February,
42:45and now you're thinking of spring,
42:46the weather's picking up.
42:48It just means a lot.
42:50Things are tight,
42:50and every pound matters at the moment.
42:53Ready?
42:55The limousine class is next in the show ring.
42:58I've got butterflies.
43:00It just makes you hungry.
43:01It's good.
43:02Hungry for winning.
43:05Or hungry in general.
43:07Yeah, coming.
43:15Martin takes Imperial,
43:16and Mel is in charge of Ice.
43:19Oi! Oi!
43:21Mel's bull has been a right twit.
43:24Oi!
43:25You haven't done this!
43:27Ice is keen to make his presence felt,
43:29amongst other unfamiliar young bulls.
43:32Mel just has to hang on tight.
43:35He's getting to that age where they're more muscular.
43:37It's going to start that kind of squaring up.
43:39They're kind of putting themselves into a funny shape
43:40and don't show themselves well.
43:44The judge assesses Imperial.
43:48Judges look for size,
43:50length,
43:51muscle definition,
43:53good locomotion,
43:54and an animal that exemplifies the limousine breed characteristics.
43:58The judge is ready to make her decision.
44:15Thank you, Ed.
44:16It's Imperial.
44:17It's Imperial.
44:18He gets first in class.
44:19I held on.
44:21Thank you, my dear.
44:23And Ice is placed second.
44:27Yeah, good start.
44:28Happy with that.
44:29I think it always helps.
44:31There's 19 limousine bulls here.
44:33There might be a buyer for 10, 12 of them.
44:36If you're at the top end
44:37and you get two boys or a cape bull
44:39to chase a bull,
44:41you could make a bit of money.
44:42So,
44:43time will tell.
44:44Martin knows to be cautiously optimistic.
44:49He's had prize winners fail to sell before.
44:52The auction begins in just a few hours.
45:03At their farm near Loch Lomond,
45:06Anne Lennox's stint of being in charge is over.
45:09Bobby is back
45:10and it's business as usual.
45:13Go, go.
45:13Oh, Anne,
45:14could you put that wee bit
45:16the slope across
45:17so we don't get in the back of there?
45:19Bobby's the boss on the farm.
45:21If Bobby says
45:22we do something,
45:23we do it.
45:25I might mutter a bit,
45:27but Bobby's the boss.
45:28I do, eh, come here.
45:29Come here, come here.
45:33The main job today
45:35is just going through the lambs,
45:37weighing them
45:38and picking out
45:40hopefully 50 or 60 lambs
45:42that are ready for the abattoir.
45:44February is the time
45:45that Bobby sends some of his sheep for slaughter.
45:48Mostly last year's male lambs,
45:50plus a few females not suitable for breeding.
45:54So this lamb's weighing
45:5540 and a half kilos.
45:58So it's in the weight range
46:01that I'm looking for.
46:02It's basically 36 to 45 kilo live weight.
46:06And then I just put my hand on the back.
46:09What I'm pulling for
46:10is the amount of flesh
46:11that's over the top of the bumps
46:13and the top of the spine.
46:15There's the odd one
46:15at 35 I'm taking
46:18because they're actually going to handle
46:19and they're very fat.
46:21If I go any more
46:21they're going to be
46:22way over fat.
46:25A green mark
46:26means the abattoir.
46:29Supermarkets are specific
46:30in terms of the carcass weights
46:32they require from suppliers.
46:34The live animal
46:35needs to weigh
46:36between 36 and 45 kilos.
46:39And Bobby must ensure
46:41all his animals
46:41are within this weight range.
46:44The supermarkets
46:45want lamb chops
46:48that will fit in the white packets.
46:50If they're over 21 kilos
46:51they're too big
46:51for the average consumer
46:53to eat for a one meal
46:54or a two person.
46:55And if they're too small
46:56they're not big enough
46:58to fill the packet.
47:00So it's basically
47:00where the supermarkets
47:01stipulate that they want carcasses
47:03in the 16 to 21 kilo range.
47:06And if you go over the top
47:08they penalize you
47:09and if you go underneath it
47:10they penalize you
47:11very heavily.
47:12It could be the difference
47:13of 15 to 20 pounds of lamb.
47:15Bobby sells his sheep
47:16to the abattoir
47:17and the supermarket
47:18buys direct from there.
47:20He has no control
47:21over where his lamb ends up.
47:22When we find lamb
47:24does its best
47:25if there's a big demand in France
47:26there's one other buyer
47:29other than the big four
47:30supermarket chains.
47:31It just needs one other buyer
47:32in the system
47:33and that can make
47:34quite a big difference
47:35to the lamb price.
47:43The sooner I get them away
47:44the less feeding it takes me
47:47to fatten them
47:48so it costs me
47:48less.
47:51But if they're smaller
47:52they're not eating
47:52so much anyway
47:53so that one's got the weight
47:55that's not quite fat enough yet
47:57so I'll give it another week.
47:58These sheep get a reprieve.
48:03No green mark
48:04means a few more weeks
48:05of life being fattened up
48:07on the farm.
48:12In Aberdeen
48:13at the cattle show
48:15the all-important auction
48:16is about to start.
48:18It's a good bar.
48:19Smell short of my summer.
48:20I'm a good family.
48:24We need to sell these bulls
48:26to keep money coming in
48:28and if we don't
48:30then there's no money coming in.
48:32It's payday for us
48:34and if we don't sell them
48:35we don't get paid.
48:37The price these pedigree
48:42breeding bulls are fetching
48:44has dropped since last year
48:45and demand is less.
48:49Two years ago
48:50Martin managed to sell
48:5115 bulls.
48:53Last year
48:54he sold just 11.
48:56We always say
48:56you need to make three
48:57to break even.
48:58Hopefully we'll make more.
48:59He did again.
49:01And just because this is
49:01his last chance
49:02the money's tight.
49:05We've got to put a low reserve
49:06on him
49:07three
49:07hopefully we'll get somebody.
49:09And what are we going to do
49:10with them if you don't sell them?
49:12I'll buy this.
49:14Sending these bulls
49:15to slaughter
49:16means a maximum price
49:18of £1,800 each.
49:21A financial loss for Martin
49:23and the end
49:24for two fine young bulls.
49:35The limousine auction
49:36is underway.
49:37and Mel's up next
49:39with Imperial.
49:43All the livestock sales
49:45are still in guineas.
49:46One guinea is the equivalent
49:48today of £1.05.
49:49Martin sticks close
50:00to the auctioneer.
50:00He hopes for at least
50:054,000 guineas
50:07for his starboard
50:07but has set a reserve price
50:10of £3,000
50:11to cover his costs
50:12at the very least.
50:13Imperial goes for 3,400 guineas.
50:40Just over £3,500.
50:43Now it's ISIS's turn.
50:49Ice sells for the same.
51:15£3,400 guineas.
51:17It's not the best result
51:19for Martin.
51:20That's the two bulls sold.
51:21That's the first bit.
51:22Trade.
51:25It was all right.
51:25There's nothing special.
51:26All I can say is
51:28two people got
51:30two really cheap bulls
51:32to be honest.
51:34They're away cheap
51:35but happy that they're away.
51:36So, I've made a bit on him.
51:46After auction fees are paid
51:48Martin walks away
51:49with just under £7,000
51:51a profit of less than £1,000.
51:54When you do get
51:58a hiding or a kicking
52:00or a doing
52:00or you don't get the sale
52:02that you like
52:02or you get beaten
52:03or something like that
52:04all it does for me
52:05is it makes me more determined
52:08to come back
52:08and be better.
52:10I want to come back
52:11next time
52:14and be better.
52:16And that's what I'll try and do.
52:18We need some enjoyment
52:29in our lives.
52:33Ice leaves with his buyer
52:35to become the breeding bull
52:36on a new farm.
52:39Imperial will be picked up
52:41from Martin's tomorrow.
52:48I've made my scoop go on.
53:11I got it, got it.
53:14Got it.
53:14It's another thing.
53:15Yep.
53:15John Scott is on morning
53:18feeding duty
53:19for his first
53:20unexpectedly early
53:21spring lambs.
53:25It's breakfast time
53:27for national treasure.
53:30We'll do that last.
53:32Sometimes after the caesarean
53:34they maybe go off
53:34for food a little bit
53:35for a while
53:35but I always like to see
53:37lambs getting up
53:39and stretching.
53:42Good to see them get up.
53:43So these guys are a bit
53:46these guys are a bit stronger
53:49than they were last night
53:51but as you can see
53:52we're one down
53:53which is a bit unfortunate
53:54when I came in
53:56at half past ten last night
53:57the little one had died
53:58but
53:59it's just the way it goes
54:02I did suspect
54:04one of them
54:05was just not going to be
54:06strong enough
54:06and that was certainly the case.
54:08It's a loss for John
54:14from a new pedigree bloodline.
54:25The focus of
54:26our attention now
54:27is on these two.
54:29The sooner I see these
54:30up and sucking themselves
54:31the better.
54:32She's a bit uncomfortable
54:35from the caesarean
54:36so she's kicking
54:38a wee bit there
54:39but that'll pass.
54:41I'm just trying to get
54:43this wee ewe lamb
54:44to feed off mum.
54:45I'm not 100% sure
54:47she hasn't actually herself.
54:50John checks to see
54:51if the ewe is producing
54:52enough milk
54:53to feed both lambs.
54:54She hasn't let her milk
54:59down fully yet.
55:00There's not
55:01there's a tiny little
55:02drop there of milk
55:03but really
55:04there's not much there.
55:08So
55:08we'll have to
55:09continue supplementing
55:11this just now.
55:14This one's slightly weaker.
55:15The teplam's slightly weaker
55:16than the ewe lamb.
55:20But we'll keep feeding them
55:21every three or four hours
55:22and hopefully her milk
55:24will come on her
55:24and then we can
55:26as her milk comes on her
55:28we can gradually ease back
55:29and feed them less
55:30by the bottle ourselves.
55:32So we'll just persevere.
55:34We'll get there.
55:42These lambs have survived
55:44the perilous first
55:4524 hours of life
55:46and are through the worst.
55:52At the Irvins farm
56:02it's time to say goodbye
56:04to a family favourite.
56:08Gentle natured Imperial
56:10one of Martin's
56:12superstar bulls
56:13is about to be picked up
56:14by his new owner.
56:16He'll be heading off
56:17and see some ladies
56:18hopefully
56:19and get to work.
56:19In nine months time
56:22a year's time
56:23there's going to be
56:23calves off the ground
56:24over him
56:24so it means a bit.
56:28The whole family
56:29are sad to see him go.
56:31You get attached to him
56:32especially if he's got
56:33a character like him
56:34and you just hope
56:34they go to a good home.
56:36That's the main thing.
56:38His new owner arrives.
56:40Imperial's new home.
57:10will be just 20 miles away
57:12on a farm they know.
57:13We'll be just 20 miles away
57:15on a farm they know.
57:17There you go.
57:42He's maybe went away cheap
57:46but knowing that he's
57:47went somewhere you can
57:48and to make it just feel
57:50so badly.
57:57Next time
57:58spring finally arrives
58:01and John Scott
58:02is on full time
58:03lambing duty.
58:05Sometimes it's good
58:06just to have a bit of
58:08time on your own
58:08just be a shepherd.
58:13Sybil gives George
58:14a spring clean.
58:16The good thing
58:16about taking it off
58:17now is that
58:18quite possibly
58:18birds might use it
58:19for nesting material.
58:20Oh!
58:21And Martin Irving
58:23harvests a specimen
58:24from his prize ball.
58:26Good boy.
58:28That's my boy.
58:30That's my boy.
58:32Well you can see
58:39all those fine specimens
58:40as this farming life
58:41returns tomorrow
58:42at the same time.
58:44And treasures on earth
58:45now over on BBC4
58:46as a metal detectorist
58:47makes the discovery
58:48of a lifetime.
58:50Digging for Britain
58:51continues.
58:52While here on BBC2
58:53it's the penultimate
58:54quarter final
58:55as two more teams
58:56battle to make it through
58:57in University Challenge
58:58next.
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