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Documentary, This Farming Life S02E10

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

#FarmingLife #ThisFarmingLife #Scotland
#Documentary
#FarmingLife

Category

🐳
Animals
Transcript
00:00Across some of the most beautiful and remote landscapes of the British Isles.
00:07There's not many views like that. It's absolutely stunning.
00:10Scotland's farmers work day and night, producing our milk and our meat.
00:17Trying out new ideas.
00:20Buffalo doesn't want to do something. You're going to find it very difficult.
00:24And striving to turn a profit in tough economic times.
00:28We're struggling. We're definitely struggling.
00:32Over the course of a year, six very different families let cameras onto their farms.
00:39Everything that could have gone wrong there, went wrong.
00:42The idea of lying on a beach. Bliss.
00:45To share their struggles.
00:47We have to get her out or she's going to die.
00:49And their triumphs.
00:52It's not about the paycheck. It's about the lifestyle.
00:58Across the country, spring is blossoming into summer.
01:13The rush of births is over.
01:17But there's no let up for farmers.
01:21They must now ensure the new mothers and their young survive.
01:26Come on girls. Come on. Come on.
01:30And cattle wintered indoors, return to the fields.
01:35To fatten up on freshly grown grass.
01:40It's definitely one of the rewards of having livestock.
01:43Is having these moments where you get to set them free.
01:46And you know that they're going to be very happy to be out in the grass.
01:50You know, the best environment for them.
01:53In Fife, the grazing land surrounding Stevie Mitchell's farm is beginning to grow lush and green.
02:07It's time for his cattle to be turned out.
02:10Come on shoot him.
02:11But this is no ordinary herd.
02:16Stevie keeps 400 buffalo.
02:23And today, the first of them are about to set off on a trek to their summer home.
02:31I've chosen to let the cows, the young calves out first.
02:34Mainly because we intend not to really have to have much to do with them over the summer.
02:37So we're taking them to the furthest away field.
02:39She's probably about three miles from here.
02:41It's a journey they're familiar with.
02:46Five months ago, Stevie herded the cows back to the farm for shelter over winter.
02:53But they gave birth to 30 calves.
02:57Come on that one.
03:02Come on guys.
03:03Now these new mums will be introducing their calves to the outdoors for the first time.
03:08So it's great just to be able to let them out and have space and really enjoy life.
03:15Freedom!
03:24Stevie's in the business of producing premium meat.
03:32By mid-May, the grass will be full of protein, sugars and fibre.
03:37Come on you. Move up.
03:41Livestock that feed on pasture will have leaner meat, filled with higher levels of antioxidants and omega-3.
03:50The sun's out. It's great. The animals will thrive now. They're out in the fields.
03:56As long as we can get them into the right field without ending up in a barley field or causing any damage to other people's crops.
04:07You know, that makes me a bit nervous.
04:13With Stevie driving the herd from behind and Stockman Eddie at the front, it all seems to be going to plan.
04:21Well then.
04:22We're cooperating quite well.
04:24Ah.
04:25Until the buffalo make a run for it.
04:28Until the buffalo make a run for it.
04:36Oh yeah.
04:37Oh, oh, oh.
04:39Oh yeah.
04:41Shhh.
04:42Hey.
04:43Eddie steers them back to the road.
04:52But confused, they hotfoot it straight back to the farm instead.
04:56Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
04:58Eddie, just stay there.
05:04Eh, not quite to plan.
05:07Come on.
05:08Come on.
05:13Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.
05:14Eventually, they get back on track.
05:19They were perfect, but we've got them where we wanted to get them, so quite a happy man.
05:29Come on.
05:30Next, they take Taff, one of Stevie's bulls, out to join them.
05:35It will be his job over the summer to get these females pregnant again.
05:41Although he seems to be more interested in mud than mating.
05:44So we've got an uncooperative bull.
05:47Do you want to...?
05:49Go on, bud.
05:50He's decided he wants his first bath.
05:54Come on, you.
05:56Eh?
05:57What are you doing?
05:58Come on.
06:00Come on.
06:03Lazy.
06:05He's happy.
06:07But this isn't part of my plan.
06:11We hadn't scheduled for you to have a roll about in the water.
06:13Come on.
06:14Keep holding us up.
06:15Come on.
06:16Let's go.
06:17Let's go.
06:18Come on.
06:19Okay.
06:20One of the things we enjoy about being outside is the opportunity to kind of do what water buffalo do.
06:22It's one of the different things from cattle, and that's finding a muddy hole and get themselves bathed in it.
06:29But...
06:31Come on.
06:33So obviously we wouldn't have a bath to impress the ladies later.
06:35Come on.
06:36Hup we go.
06:37Come on.
06:38Come on.
06:39Hup we get.
06:40Out the bath.
06:41Come on, you stumbering brute.
06:42Come on.
06:43What is this all about?
06:44Eh?
06:45I've just given you 25 girls, all knotting calves, and you want to lie in a puddle.
06:46What's your problem?
06:47Come on.
06:48Come on.
06:49Come on.
06:50Come on.
06:51Come on.
06:52Come on.
06:53Come on.
06:54Come on.
06:55Come on.
06:56Come on.
06:57Come on.
06:58Come on.
06:59Come on.
07:00Come on.
07:01Come on.
07:02Come on.
07:03Come on.
07:04Come on.
07:05Come on.
07:06Come on.
07:07Come on.
07:08Come on.
07:09Come on.
07:10Come on.
07:11Come on.
07:12Come on.
07:13Come on.
07:14How are you?
07:15Hey.
07:16Hey.
07:17Hey.
07:18Well done.
07:19Good boy.
07:20Good boy.
07:21Right.
07:22Right?
07:23A few minutes in the mud bath, and Taft is finally ready for the ladies.
07:31These mums will spend the summer with their calves.
07:34But back at the barn, the mothers with older calves have only days left together.
07:50In the north-east of Scotland, near Aberdeen...
07:57...Martin Irvine is also turning his cattle out for the summer.
08:01Yeah, so it's the first batch out.
08:05He and his wife, Mel, have a herd of 72 pedigree limousines, raring to get outside after seven months wintering in the barn.
08:14The cows know where they're going. They know what's happening.
08:19So they'll run around the park about ten times, and they'll realise there's a taste of grass, and they'll put the head down.
08:24The calves that were born inside, they've never been outside their lives, so this is a whole new experience.
08:36A taste of grass, which must be amazing for them, compared to what we feed through the winter.
08:41It's just basically silage and draught and straw.
08:43Tastier than silage, and much cheaper too.
08:47Grass will save Martin and farmers like him much-needed cash over the summer.
08:52If you could keep them outside all year, it'd be brilliant.
08:55But the fact is, where we live, this part of Scotland, it's a short summer, it's a long winter.
09:01The calves are out.
09:06Next up, is their dab.
09:11After a few years selling his pedigree cattle for poor profits, new stock bull, Irish, may have helped Martin turn a corner.
09:20Come on!
09:23That's him just letting everybody know he's here.
09:30Just mad noises.
09:36He was bought for £5,000 three years ago.
09:41But the sale of his first two bull calves has already made the farm nearly £20,000.
09:47All the calves have been had for the last two years, probably Irish.
09:53Good calves.
09:55Clicking really well with our cows.
09:56Our cows are a bit, you could call it plain, but good big square cows.
10:00In Irish, that's just extreme muscles, just kind of rounding things off.
10:03So it's suiting us really well.
10:05They seem to be suiting the market right now, so I'm quite happy.
10:10Martin's limousines provide over half of his income.
10:14Top-class bull calves can make thousands at auction.
10:18The others, he sells on for beef.
10:19Irish has fathered 22 calves, and is expecting ten more this spring.
10:28The mums, due in the next few days, are still indoors, and Honey is looking like she could be next.
10:35For the last half hour, she's been pretty quiet.
10:39I'd imagine there's some contractions happening, a bit of pressure at the back end.
10:43Honey comes from premium pedigree lineage.
10:46Her brother broke records at Carlisle auction, selling for £30,000.
10:50So she's got a good bloodline, and we've crossed her with Irish.
10:55So that combination could be something special, so I'm quite anticipating to see what we get.
11:01I'd like a bull calf off her, it'd be quite nice.
11:04So, fingers crossed, bull calf, alive and well and all right.
11:09A good safe birth is critical.
11:13Honey's new calf is potentially worth thousands.
11:15So the plan now is just to keep an eye on her.
11:19So I want to be able to see her, but I don't want her to see me.
11:21I want her to relax and get in the zone and get on with pushing this calf out.
11:26So I'm going to hide her in the tractor.
11:29I'll see her and she won't see me and just leave her to go on my job.
11:32She's a very good job.
11:33She's a very good job.
11:34She's a very good job.
11:35She's a very good job.
11:36She's a very good job.
11:37She's a very good job.
11:38She's a very good job.
11:39She's a very good job.
11:58In Appin, hill farmer David Colthart has had a hectic few weeks.
12:02His flock of 540 hardy black-faced sheep have nearly finished lambing outside.
12:14There's plenty of lambs.
12:15I haven't found any dead lambs yet, which is good, either predated or with the weather.
12:20So, so far, so good.
12:22Things seem to be working out quite well at the moment.
12:24Carving's also over for his herd of 45 beef cows.
12:31They'll be kept indoors for a few weeks so that David can keep an eye on them.
12:36Right now, though, David's looking forward to a bit of time out at a family wedding.
12:42Tomorrow, my cousin's getting married, so there'll have to be a very early start and a very sharp finish, or it won't be popular.
12:52The morning of the wedding, and wife Sandra's ready.
13:06But David's been held up in the cattle shed.
13:18A wedding in two hours time, my cousin's wedding.
13:21And this is not helping things.
13:23Things just went wrong today.
13:25It's the wrong day for it.
13:28He's had to call in vet Alastair Carswell.
13:33You need to be somewhere.
13:35Hi, you've got an hour of time.
13:37All right.
13:38First things morning, there was a cow flat in the pen.
13:41And just overnight, just must have taken an attack of milk fever.
13:47Milk fever is caused by a drastic drop in calcium levels that can happen if a cow produces a lot of milk quickly.
13:54It causes muscle weakness, and untreated can lead to heart failure.
14:00The cow has just calved, which makes her unpredictable.
14:05Calved just a couple of days ago.
14:07Yesterday.
14:09No, no, this is going to get us up.
14:15Well, this has got up.
14:16She wouldn't get up earlier on.
14:17But the other one in the pen here, she's just staggering about.
14:22It's not just her.
14:24There are four mums showing signs of milk fever.
14:32Alastair needs to get calcium into their systems.
14:35If he can stabilise them in time, the cows should recover.
14:38When the calcium basically is going in under the skin, it will then be absorbed slowly into the body, which will raise her levels.
14:47She's not bad.
14:48She's still in her feet.
14:49She's a bit wobbly.
14:50She would rather lie down.
14:51But that will just be absorbed.
14:54That will boost her body's levels, which will allow her to just get back into her correct metabolism.
15:04Steady now.
15:05Steady, steady, steady, steady, steady.
15:06Oh, lass.
15:07You just want to get the cows sorted.
15:08She's got a calf there.
15:09She's a good big cow.
15:10Good calf.
15:11And she's just, you know, if you have to lose her, you've got a whole lot of other problems you've got to deal with.
15:18So you don't want to do that.
15:19You just want to get her sorted.
15:22Milk fever is more common in dairy cows, as they produce high volumes of milk.
15:27About 8% are affected every year.
15:30But David has beef cows, and to have four struck down all at once is highly unusual.
15:37Trouble this.
15:38I don't know if any more are going to go down in the...
15:41So when I go along to the church, I'll just have to be there and then just get back out after the service and back across.
15:51Yep.
15:52Get the cake there on top of the feet.
15:54Yeah, that's sandwork.
15:57Yep.
15:58I'm about to get very much, even more harassed.
16:04Alistair has offered to come back and check the cows while David's at the ceremony.
16:12Okay, that's great, Alton.
16:13Thanks so much.
16:14If I'm not back in the house by half past one...
16:16I think you better.
16:17I think you better.
16:18Yes.
16:19Thanks so much, Alton.
16:20He'll throw up in later on.
16:25Normally speaking, you wouldn't leave the farm.
16:28If there's any other event other than a close family wedding, I would not be leaving.
16:35Even with a draw of champagne and ample whisky.
16:39You wouldn't be able to enjoy it because you're worried about what's happening at home.
16:42Back at the house, David pulls off a dramatic transformation.
16:54Yeah.
16:55That's why we don't plan anything.
16:56I mean, you know, you can't plan to do anything really, can you?
16:57Because you don't know what's waiting for you in the shed.
17:01David logs on to the cow cam for a final check.
17:02Time is 1.30.
17:03What time are we supposed to be there?
17:04Ten minutes ago.
17:05Ten minutes ago.
17:06Ten minutes ago.
17:07Okay.
17:08Great.
17:09So we're already on the way up.
17:10Oh, she's standing up.
17:11That's good.
17:12That's good.
17:13Everything else seems fine in the shed at the moment.
17:14It's time to put this away and not torment myself.
17:15Get my lessons available.
17:16And then we get away.
17:17You can get back to it, David.
17:18There's more detail.
17:19You can get back to it.
17:20Yeah, and again, you can get back to it.
17:21I want to get back to it and I want to get back to it.
17:23So the thing is, David logs on to the cow cam for a final check.
17:24The time is 1.30.
17:25What time are we supposed to be there?
17:26Ten minutes ago.
17:27Ten minutes ago.
17:28Okay.
17:29Great.
17:30So we're already on the way up.
17:31So I'm starting to be able to take this road.
17:32Oh, she's standing up.
17:33That's good.
17:34That's good.
17:35Everything else seems fine at the shed at the moment.
17:40I never meant myself to get my lessons about a read.
17:49What you practice is I'm sitting down in the pew.
17:54Hi, Annie. Time to go.
18:00I've probably forgotten some of my kit.
18:02Sparring.
18:04Help.
18:10Hopefully I have a couple of hours of peace on my phone.
18:26On his farm north of Aberdeen,
18:29the spring births are not yet over for Martin.
18:34Prize Bull Irish is about to become a dad for the 23rd time this year.
18:41Honey has gone into labour.
18:46Martin's hoping for a bull calf,
18:49which could earn him thousands at auction next year.
18:55It's the heat's going to feel back.
19:00Dad, Stephen, is on hand to help with the delivery.
19:03Get up.
19:16Push.
19:18Good girl.
19:19So it was a little bit of a problem.
19:21The calf's head was lying down and back.
19:24So I've flipped it up.
19:26It's sitting where it should be right.
19:28And now she's starting to push.
19:31Which is fine.
19:33Let's pull the rope.
19:40So I've got the calf into the position.
19:41I want it to be in.
19:43So I'm going to put on the ropes onto the front feet.
19:46And pretty much apply pressure pool.
19:49Help the cow push the calf out.
19:50I've got my foot.
19:53And now that I've got the head in the right position,
19:54she's feeling pressure where it needs to be
19:56and it's making her push.
19:58So that's why she's been taking a bit of time.
19:59Sure it was a small eye on it.
20:08Here it comes.
20:26You ready?
20:27Alright.
20:28Oh, that's it.
20:37Oh, there you go, there you go, there you go.
20:47So just checking it.
20:49The airwaves are clear.
20:50See if he's breathing all right.
20:52Heifer.
20:54A heifer calf is a disappointment.
20:57But as a healthy purebred female,
20:59she can help to grow Martin's herd in the future.
21:04Yeah, good calf. Nice size.
21:05On the Isle of Mull,
21:06Janet and Alistair Taylor are very pleased with their crop of newborns.
21:16They've just finished lambing their 128 breeding ewes.
21:17Lots of new life around the farm, yeah.
21:18It's a busy time of year.
21:19We're doubling our quantities of stock on the place.
21:20This spring, the flock has produced 119 healthy lambs.
21:21They're not just lamb.
21:22They're not just lambs to us.
21:23They're not just lambs to us.
21:25They're our future.
21:26and Alistair Taylor are very pleased with their crop of newborns they've just finished lambing
21:33their 128 breeding ewes lots of new life around the farm yeah it's a busy time of year we're
21:40doubling our quantities of stock on the place this spring the flock has produced 119 healthy
21:48lambs they're not just lambs to us they're our future their future wants to be sold future
21:56lambs that'll become meows on the place future meat for the freezer as well so that you're
22:04always watching them grow as well and enjoying seeing them thrive starting with nothing five
22:11years ago they've begged borrowed and budgeted to get their flock to this size they've also been
22:18building up their highland cattle this year they've had seven healthy calves like martin they're hoping
22:26the new calves will boost the farm's fortunes the plan for all this year's camps is a way to market
22:35we're not keeping any for replacements this year so fit and healthy that's what we want sell for lots
22:41of money that'd be nice he's coming over here but first the calves need some modifications
22:50bull calf steven is brought in first with his mum morag keeping a watchful eye that's a girl
22:57good girl unfortunately for steven he'll make more money without his budding horns good girl and his crown
23:09jewels
23:09they've got no horns they can get their heads through the feeders and it's not a problem so
23:19they're more sellable when they're dehorned and castrating so we don't have lots of bulls and
23:23again it's so that when they are sold on they're easier managed
23:28you find me a cattle needle
23:34and a sheet needle and a syringe i also takes the lead on the cow work he's in charge i'm just the labor
23:44yeah she knows i'm trying to trick her good girl i want your baby
23:49it may seem a harsh process but it's vital if the farm is to get the best price for every calf
24:03i do feel sorry for them i feel sorry for any animal that you're having to
24:06do this to it's not pleasant it's just something that we have to do to help management
24:19all right i will take good care of him
24:28his two horns all they are is tiny little lumps that's all there is of his horn
24:35so we'll put a wee anesthetic in to numb the area
24:41steady steady steady
24:43and then we'll use the dehorner to stop it growing what's the anesthetic
24:52it goes on to it and it just burns all the way around cuts through the skin and you do a perfect
24:59circle and it cuts all the nerve endings all the blood vessels everything that supplies the horn
25:05and so the horn won't grow
25:21anesthetics working yeah
25:24and then you should be able to see a nice clear ring all the way around we missed a bit there
25:36it's a cruel day
25:41next alistair tackles his tackle
25:44cough please
25:45a bloodless procedure using a simple elastic band
25:50just expanding it with the pliers and he's doing the same thing it goes over
25:54the balls remain in the sack and then the ring is there to cut off the blood supply and that will drop
25:59off well done well done just like nice and quick just a quick elastic band good boy
26:07he's fine actually but the longer you have them separated the more everything gets
26:12stressed so he needs to go back to mom now all right all right all right you can go yeah
26:24they're definitely happy to be reunited that's the important bit getting them back together as
26:29quick as we can and then he can get a suit from his mom he'll settle down although he's
26:35at the moment the adrenaline's still kicked in so he's not sure what's happened to him but something has
26:42been a great day
26:50in appin david's cousin has just got married
26:58after a quick snap for the wedding album
27:02david and sandra have to skip the reception canapes
27:05to race back to the four cows struck down by milk fever at the farm
27:09right dad just way back for us check things in the shed all right we'll see you over there just a
27:16wee bit
27:18i love the service it was nice the mess they did a good job it's good but this was in the back of my mind
27:37cows the shed here so hopefully there isn't any more problems i'm not dressed for it either you sandra
27:43you know i'm gonna get covered in smell as well
27:52three of the cows have recovered
27:58come on girl oh god but one is much worse
28:03how was she when you left her she was sitting up
28:16well i can't really go in there with my shoes on and help you push her
28:19and then if not i'll go back and get changed and lift her up
28:31it's vital the cow gets into a sitting position lying flat her stomach will fill up with gas and
28:48she could die leaving her car for an orphan
28:54here's a rope here here
28:58yeah david's called a neighbor dennis to help
29:01i'm gonna get around and head down and i'm gonna get her legs in below
29:05up and then just try and pull around so she's sitting up
29:11hey come on girl come on step
29:15no it's not looking very good i don't know for her i'm afraid
29:21you know we're trying to get her up on her side so that she's propped up but
29:26no you can usually tell we're looking at them when things are not good
29:32no things are not looking too good for her
29:40jamming in against that to help keep her up the long ways and i'll try and pull her
29:56earlier david put a special sling on her so she could be hoisted up by a forklift
30:01but at the moment she's too weak at least she's up
30:05yeah it just means it's going to probably be a long evening tonight because after we get our meal
30:12just have to just change and just come back and just deal with her yeah i'll put a blanket on her
30:17because she's shivering a little bit dennis you can come to the house and you can take some covers
30:23across so covers yep for her dad on top of that from the house we're just going back sandal go back
30:28what covers you're taking a cool off my bed it's a great life really oh yes wonderful you just
30:39never know what's going to happen but nobody really expected all this on a day like today i mean how
30:44many weddings do we ever go to like one a year and all the disasters in one day too the day of the
30:50wedding is so typical we don't plan to do anything right most cows recover a few hours after being
31:00given calcium but in a minority of cases the animal will die this cows had the maximum dose so they've
31:08just got to wait and hope but for now they're expected back to toast the bride and groom won't
31:15be able to drink too much though not if you get a cut we have to drive back here and do this
31:18but why do i feel like it
31:32in fife stevie needs to get the final batch of buffalo out to graze
31:43these mums have older calves they've been together all winter
31:47steady
31:50now it's time to cut the apron strings
31:55well we're just putting these gates here so that we can wean some calves
32:02once they're separated off from their mums they'll be pretty keen to
32:05find any escape route so we're reinforcing things
32:08at eight months old the calves no longer need their mother's milk
32:18and will thrive outside by themselves steady guys
32:22most of the mums are already four months pregnant and need some time to rest before they carve again
32:30oh yeah but buffalo can be more tricky to wean than normal cattle we've got a much stronger bond
32:36between uh mum and baby particularly the female side for whatever reason i think it's obviously the
32:43kind of traditional herd instinct that the the the want to stay bonded so we have to kind of try and do
32:49it inside where we've got big strong pens because if we did it out in the fields they would be hopping over
32:54fences and through fences and breaking things and all to get back together so this is uh
33:00we've learned this over the years it's better to do it now and then we'll let mums out to grass and
33:06hopefully maybe a week week's time once we're confident that they're quite
33:10comfortable and calves will get out too
33:15we're going to just bring all the cows and calves this way and then the theory is we'll only let the
33:20cows go back and then we'll shut the gate um so the cows will be on this side calves will be on that side
33:29as the mums are separated off
33:37hey
33:41some persistent calves slip through hey yeah two calves have just beaten us
33:51they're pretty quick and if they won't go they're quite hard to stop
33:53so fast you got any barley
34:01look we're going to try and outthink them here so eddie's just putting a wee bit of protein in the
34:06cow the calves won't be so fast but the cows will be quite excited for it
34:12with the mums distracted by a second breakfast eddie chases the calves out come on and go
34:18it's quite easy to get yourself all worked up and stressed but like that we'd only make it worse
34:23so just try not to hurry it
34:26okay
34:31okay
34:33what's the
34:33what's the
34:36oh well done it
34:37watch
34:38that's okay
34:44okay
34:45yeah
34:46that's all
34:47the mums and calves are safely segregated but the penny hasn't yet dropped that this will be permanent
34:57there'll be a lot of crying calves and roaring mums uh very shortly but uh once they realize what
35:03we've done we're trying to minimize that by actually keeping them so they can still see each
35:08other so they can't get physical contact but they can still kind of see each other and hopefully that
35:13will reduce the stress although if you came in here come in here tomorrow and they're all crying
35:20their eyes out you feel quite guilty about it i have to be honest probably not going to be very
35:25popular with uh my my my auntie and the the pig stockmen who live next door because they roar and
35:33they keep roaring and they keep roaring
35:37any human being would probably find it quite difficult to walk away from you feel quite guilty
35:41about it all but it is you know it has to happen you can't it's it's for both the calf and mum's
35:48good so um yeah it's just one of these things
36:04sure enough anti-camilla's had anything but a silent night
36:11so definitely feeling quite guilty this morning when you come in and hear the noise of the
36:20mums and young calves roaring desperate to get back in the same pen as each other but
36:28it will gradually get less um as i'm telling my auntie because she's quite quite grumpy i can see why
36:35why it could be quite annoying if you're living right next door to it so probably not the most popular
36:41nephews today
36:53in appin it's the morning after the wedding
37:11but david's cow still hasn't recovered after collapsing with milk fever
37:15come on come on come on she still hasn't got up but we've got her in a sling which is specially designed
37:27for for lifting down cows so
37:33she survived the night and just trying to make sure that that with a harness they can try to use her legs
37:42do something for yourself come on come on try she'll need to do something for herself she's not really
37:52trying she's probably still pretty sore so so fingers crossed if you rest for a couple of hours
37:59come back and give her another try to lift her she's comfortable at the moment
38:02she's got a bit of feed she's had water i just keep my fingers crossed
38:10all weak are we
38:11a real shame a real shame
38:31farmers work hard all year round to keep their livestock alive and healthy
38:39but two and a half million sheep and over a quarter of a million cattle die prematurely
38:48on uk farms every year from accidents infections and disease
38:53you bring life into the farm and sometimes you're there when life goes out the farm
39:03but the wee cow behind me here unfortunately for whatever reason
39:08she should pass away last night and
39:12uh you know i've had a hotline to the vet this last few days and there's absolutely nothing more
39:20that we could have done than what we've actually done
39:28for six months we're in the shed battles and forwards they see you you see them all through the winter
39:35period so you can't help but get attached to your animals to a certain extent
39:41at the end of the day you have to have a level of
39:46we'll re-listen that they're there to produce calves for you to sell
39:50but still no with the time that you're here you try and make sure that these animals have got their best lives they have
39:56they totally rely on you and that's the worst thing of it that i'm in charge of the environment
40:04that our cows are in so you can't help but think this or something that you've done or inadvertently
40:10done has caused this this problem
40:14david had one case of milk fever at the start of carving which was unusual but to have multiple cows
40:21struck down in one day was a total shock in 10 years i haven't had cows milk fever and then one day
40:27you get get four it's just difficult to try and pinpoint the the exact exact reason what caused it
40:35there's a wee stressor somewhere along the line that i haven't quite figured out yet and i need to try
40:41and figure it out because i don't want to happen again
40:43the loss of a young cow also has a lasting financial impact a lost nice cow she only had her second
40:56calf and she could have been here till she's 14 year old so she's only five year old the real shame
41:06thanks arty cheers much appreciate it
41:13cut off in her prime david's not only lost her but the future calves she could have had
41:22his priority now is to save the orphans she's left behind
41:27we've got a little cabin there it's dependent on me now to get a mom
41:32so that's that's going to focus over the next few days
41:43so
41:52across to the northeast of scotland
41:57mel is also counting her livestock losses
41:59she's checking on the 600 sheep that belong to the estate they rent from
42:05there's 201
42:08this extra contract work has brought in a good income over the last few years
42:14everything's finished lambing at home and at the estate so it's just a case of me coming up and checking
42:21the sheep and seeing everything's okay and making sure no one's stuck on their back or stuck in a
42:26fence or or dead which is quite often happens
42:29like david she knows some livestock won't survive the youngsters are particularly vulnerable
42:37i'm just looking for um 226 which was a triplet and i'm afraid to say i think it's gone down to twins now
42:47which is a shame there's 226 there see the red one 226 and she's only got her two
42:58she's doing the job of the two but she was doing a really good job of the three
43:02but fox and badgers gotta eat i suppose which is more disappointing for me really
43:10right i'm gonna just keep going and see what else i can find
43:15if they move they think they're getting fed
43:19with all this grass they think they're getting fed
43:21this is one of mel's last visits to the sheep
43:26for the last four years the sheep contract has brought in an extra 15 000 pounds a year
43:31but with baby erin now one mel and martin's priorities have changed we're finishing the next
43:39four weeks or so so uh yeah it's just a case of you know when we think oh i'll not be doing this next
43:46yeah it's a shame because we've gotten the sheep to where we wanted them but it's just too much for us
43:53you've just got to be good to yourself and not work yourself too hard which we're kind of doing
44:05for janet and alistair on mole giving up their contract work is not an option
44:10they hope to earn four thousand pounds from the sale of livestock this year
44:17but it's subsidies and working for other farmers and landowners that keeps their farm afloat
44:25good boy all the way in good job fish
44:35all right tons of room
44:40seven months ago alistair took on three deer management contracts which should bring in an
44:45extra nine thousand pounds a year with the shooting season over his responsibility now is to keep the
44:53deer healthy it's really magical doing it just now it's just like seeing all these wild deer coming right
45:02up to you it's amazing
45:10so
45:13there are over six thousand red deer on mull that's two for every human resident
45:19the island can't sustain a bigger population and girls as any more will decimate wild vegetation and
45:35farmers crops
45:41so with no natural predators alistair's job is to control numbers
45:47but for part of the year he helps to keep the deer in good condition by feeding them
45:57we're managing the herd really for quality we're wanting to see good strong animals coming through
46:03much like you would do with your farm livestock
46:08we start feeding them when the season finishes and then feed them every other day
46:14and they get their cobs like this and then they get lick tabs as well to
46:18help keep them going with minerals and things in it
46:32it's you know something quite special feeding them um you know because they're completely wild animals
46:41it's not like it's a deer park or anything like that where they're used to seeing people
46:45the only other time they see me is when i'm shooting them
46:52feed feeding is a lot easier it's nice to see the deer alive
46:57it's a job in addition to everything else there's financially it's it's not a huge
47:11money-making scheme um we do get a bit more one of the all three estates pay me differently
47:18so one estate i get a monthly salary one estate i get a lump sum and one estate i get the money from
47:24the deer i shoot and so none of it's huge money but it is just a little bit of a help to janet and i
47:31and um the estate that has the monthly income i also get a second vehicle and a few other things
47:36like that which is very useful but even with contract work their farming future on mull is uncertain
47:48it's it's hard what what farming's doing at the moment is worrying and
47:52you know whether we can keep going doing what we're doing making as little as we we are it's
47:58it's debatable what's gonna happen really but i think there's a lot of farmers all over
48:04that are having the same thoughts you know yeah but yeah we love it we've got to carry on farming
48:14we've just signed our next lease and that's us tied in again for another five years
48:22i'd like to see by the end of that five years us have our stock up to where we're happy with it
48:29put a bit more money into the silage fields because it could do with a lot of money spent on
48:33it it'll just depend on how much we make from the livestock money's always the thing that holds us back
48:40and then after that five years i don't know is it another five years here is it a bigger farm
48:47i just don't know
48:53go home now for tea yeah
48:58what's your noisy
48:59while janet and alistair are unsure if they can lay down roots long term
49:19mel and martin on the mainland are committed to making their farm a success for their growing family
49:24so it loves it the faster the better
49:35she's definitely like us can as soon as we could reach the pedals well before we could
49:38reach the pedals we were driving tractors and the cord bike so she'll get every chance that i did
49:43family farms are maybe the way forward can me and dad none of us take a proper wage at the farm
49:54we do take a wage but just enough to live on because it's a way of life i think that's maybe
49:58the kind of farms are surviving in those the family farms because you're not having to take a big wage
50:03which puts pressure on the business i've got enough money to look after myself mel and erin i'm happy enough
50:14and i get to spend all day with the smiler here
50:20we've always said that we would want a quite a not a lot yeah large enough family
50:27so yeah i would like to have another one another bobby but everyone tells me that
50:32she's been so good that the next one will never be as good as her so
50:40she's a wee star
50:56in appin david has been trying to get to the bottom of what caused the milk fever outbreak in his herd
51:18he suspects that the fine balance of minerals that his cows need at this time
51:22was upset by a slight change in diet this is what we call draft it's from one of the local
51:30distilleries and it's a by-product of the making of whiskey it's the remnants of the barley mash
51:36and we use it in the cattle feed and it's absolutely brilliant feed it really is an important part of
51:40the diet but there's a breakdown at the local distillery and we didn't get our our monthly load
51:46of draught for four days so the cows were without draught then we got it for a week and then with
51:52the problem the milk fever so in essence you know probably what's happened it's probably the perfect
51:57storm of calves are demanding a lot from the cows in terms of milk the slight change over in the diet
52:03when we're four days without the draught and then the draught being reintroduced so that's probably
52:08a combination a lot of things that has meant that it's just one of these rare occasions everything
52:15goes wrong david's run of bad luck isn't over he can't get any of his cows to adopt the orphaned calf
52:27it just didn't go as we planned and now we are left with this lovely little uh orphan calve which we
52:34have to make a decision about she's too young to graze so david and sandra now face having to feed her
52:48themselves a job that will be a lot easier if they can wean her off the bottle and onto a bucket the
52:55only problem is when you can find her she's not really actually used to being handled so when you
52:59can find her and you try and entice her face into the bucket she's probably going to struggle and push
53:03against us oh god i know i know i know put a nose in the bucket i will she's david look at she's still
53:17too scared right oh it's not even warm gee how tasty cold milk come on cavi come on cavi
53:30come on smell my fingers smell wow i didn't move you did
53:42want to taste
53:47there we go i suck in my finger
53:51you want to try some come on get your little face in there look she's drinking good
54:06that's tasty want some more
54:10well if she'll drink out of a bucket at least that's something i mean you can just leave the bucket in
54:15and she can feed herself basically you think i'm your mommy now
54:24feeding the calf for the next few months will be a big commitment
54:28but david and sandra aren't going to give up on her she's very resilient we'll give her the best shot
54:34that's the bottom line we'll feed her she'll be all right she'll live
54:38yeah she's fought all the way to here so yeah she's a survivor even fighting with me we should
54:45we should change her name to sassy sassy the survivor
54:47in fife no longer needing their mother's milk well then guys stevie's calves have become adjusted
55:06to life without their mums and are eager to explore the outside
55:10they're the last of the buffalo to head out to summer grazing
55:27they seem very happy despite the windy it's windy it's not all good
55:40the calves are settled which means their pregnant mums can take it easy before they give birth again
55:47maiple shut up
55:51i should be barking at those there wasn't offensive to
55:55see they're our friends they're our friends maple yes
56:03but stevie's got an extra treat up his sleeve
56:06oh hey buddy have you got the quad handy
56:13um i was thinking about just letting the buffalo down into the you know down by the boathouse at the
56:18lock just for an hour or so give them a swim
56:21just the thing for hard-working mums a trip to the buffalo spa
56:38it's weird to think because buffalo are from a hot country but they actually have less sweat glands
57:00than cows so they that is their way of controlling their temperature and hence where they get their name
57:23it's actually possibly the most my favorite thing about having water buffalo is getting to see just how happy they are when they're
57:27they're getting to thrash about in the water and obviously the lock's actually quite clean it's really funny when they
57:34some of the fields we've got some real muddy wall wallows and guys it's what water buffalo should be and
57:42you can definitely see the the sheer contentment on their faces so very rewarding to to watch
57:57that's what's going to happen next time
58:02david tries a novel approach to bird scaring
58:08to enjoy every every day is good fun but hopefully we won't see them for another few days
58:14robin and penny take action when a fox gets into the hen run so the plan is robin to the rescue
58:20and stevie and stevie takes his favorite ball 007 to his first country show hey hey stop that
58:40i know
58:45this time
58:45how he can i do
58:49it
58:52if we can see all of the people who过 to survive
58:54this time
58:55it's for more than
58:56it's for me
58:57it's for the family to be able to to see them
58:58from the temple
59:01they're on the temple
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