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Landward episode 20 2025
Transcript
00:00This time, jet-setting cattle from across the pond. Welcome to Lambard.
00:09Hello from Alva in Klipmanosher in the shadow of the Oakville Hills.
00:33I'm here to meet a man passionate about breeding cattle.
00:37He's raising American Highlands right here in Scotland.
00:41So how does that work? We'll find out soon.
00:43But first, here's what else is coming up.
00:48Shabazz seeks out some dark skies.
00:52Yeah, these ones are certainly very interesting.
00:56Rosie meets the cool cows of the Langhill herd.
01:00It is beautiful.
01:01It's a work in progress.
01:03And Anne joins Banjo Beal and his partner Roe as they get to work on their very own Hebridean property.
01:15First up, it's a crucial time of year for sheep farmers when the whole cycle begins.
01:20Careful preparations must be made as Cammy knows all too well on his farm in Ayrshire.
01:31You've joined us on a manic day here at the farm.
01:34Due to some inclement weather, we're dipping and putting the tups out in the same day.
01:38Come on boys, you're first.
01:40These are our new rams that we bought this year.
01:45So they've no excuse for being timid.
01:46I've never seen this machine before.
01:52A few of the landward faithfuls will remember that we've dipped when Neil Fell and his team before.
01:56So you've seen how all this works.
01:58A big cage, the sheep get plunged in it, submerged for a brief second and coated with dip.
02:03Covers them for scab, lice, ticks, all sorts of horrible things on their skin.
02:12Dunking done, the boys can head out to the field to join the girls.
02:17But to keep track of their work, first I need to attach a special marker.
02:23We're going to put crayons on them first though.
02:24And you may be saying, why are you putting crayons on rams?
02:27Well, it identifies a couple of things.
02:29One, I can put different colours on different breeds of ram.
02:33So I know which rams have tupped which ewes.
02:35And two, it tells me when and if they've been tupped.
02:43I'll change the crayon colour every 17 days.
02:47That's the length of a ewes cycle.
02:50Now most of these rams would easily do 100 ewes to themselves.
02:54But in order to speed up the process and take a bit of the pressure off them,
02:58we'll generally look to give them about 70 ewes each.
03:04I've been putting these harnesses on my entire life.
03:06But every year when it comes to this point and the first ones to go on,
03:09I'm left looking at it like...
03:12Is that the front?
03:14Is that the front?
03:15Is that the front?
03:29Not too tight, not too loose.
03:32Make sure it's not twisted.
03:34I think he's ready to rock.
03:36With all the other lads done, we can load them up.
03:39Lizzy is gonna cover my gap, so to speak.
03:44Come on boys, make this easy for me.
03:47Come on.
03:48Come on up.
03:49Come on, you start and the rest will follow.
03:51Come on.
03:54Come on.
03:56Come on.
03:58Oh, practice these jumping skills.
04:01He's gonna need them.
04:02This is the warm up boys.
04:03Shh, shh, shh.
04:07Come on.
04:13It's like I planned it.
04:15Perfect fit.
04:16You actually want them quite tight in the trailer,
04:18so they don't jump out on the road.
04:27The farming year starts again.
04:29The tups you've got here are...
04:33They're not fancy.
04:34They're just within my budget.
04:36Hopefully go out and do a job for me.
04:38Some of them are new.
04:39Some of them are tried and tested before.
04:41But what we're looking for is a meaty lamb.
04:43So I'm just looking for a good terminal sire, as we call it,
04:48that's gonna produce a meaty fat lamb.
04:51All my lambs eventually end up in the food chain.
04:54So we're just trying to produce the very best prime scotch lamb.
05:06Right.
05:07Boys.
05:08There's the girls.
05:10I want the two Suffolks out here.
05:12You come this way big boy.
05:13Look, the gate's open.
05:14You can escape.
05:15Oh no, don't take that one with you.
05:17Didn't want you falling out.
05:23Unfortunately, it seems that the Suffolks are more interested in the grass than the girls.
05:29And the girls aren't giving them much encouragement.
05:32I think that's what you call an anti-climax.
05:35Maybe the older yous will be a bit more forward.
05:39You ready boys?
05:41All five out at once here.
05:43Come on.
05:44Whee.
05:45I've got Spot just holding them up a little bit.
05:52Romance seems to be blossoming a bit more quickly with the more mature ladies.
05:57They are keen to gather round.
06:01Now, although we're coming towards the end of the year,
06:03the rams going out is generally considered the beginning of the farming calendar.
06:08It's where the cycle starts all over again.
06:11And in about 145 days time, we're going to be lambing.
06:16And that's a thought.
06:17From sheep to cattle now, and I've come to Greenhead Farm to meet a man who's made a big name for himself in Highlands.
06:34It takes some man to tame an imposing bull like this.
06:46But Dexter Logan is up for the job.
06:49How's it going?
06:50Hi Dougie.
06:51Yeah, good thanks.
06:52Yourself?
06:53I'm very well.
06:54Now tell me, who is this?
06:55Magnificent beast.
06:56This is Cameron, our current stock bull.
06:57He's been working with cows.
06:58He's in working condition.
06:59He's all muddied up.
07:00So we just wanted to get him freshened up for some potential visitors next week hopefully.
07:04By the way, is it shampoo, or just shampoo you're using?
07:06Just shampoo.
07:07Just shampoo.
07:08I was fortunate enough to be born and bred into having Highland cattle.
07:11My parents started off with them and I've grown up with them ever since and fallen in love since a young age.
07:25So I'm fortunate enough to keep the legacy going.
07:29And with Cameron taking the champion prize for the breed at this year's Highland show, means Dexter's lifelong ambition of working with cattle like this is paying off.
07:44Alongside my wife and I, we have been pretty successful in the show ring and recently in the sale ring as well, so it goes a long way, yeah.
07:52While Cameron's ready for a rinse...
07:56There's plenty of hair there, so it takes a wee bit of time.
08:03With Cameron looking splendid, we leave him to dry off, so Dexter can show me his heifers and his next Highland challenge.
08:11So do you notice anything different about these Highland cattle?
08:15To my expert eye, no.
08:19Well these are full blood American Highland cattle that have been imported from New Hampshire as an embryo.
08:26Full blood American?
08:27Yeah, unfortunately no live imports at all.
08:30So these guys came as a frozen fertilised embryo in a tank and then they were implanted into their donor mothers and their mothers reared them.
08:39Is there a difference between the American ones and the Scottish ones?
08:43No, I wouldn't say there is. Maybe the untrained eye, definitely not.
08:46But when you're looking at them at different stages, you can notice slight different things.
08:50But, you know, they're pretty normal Highland cows to me.
08:54It's thought there are around 11,000 Pedigree Highland cattle registered in North America.
09:01So, when some of those breeders went looking for a man on the ground in Scotland to partner with, they noticed Dexter's track record.
09:09The breeders in America that we are working with, they are very high up in the showing world and selling world in America.
09:16So they wanted to send their genetics over here and try and get involved in the homeland of the Highland cow.
09:23We're hoping that we can sell bulls with American genetics into Scotland. A bit of fresh blood.
09:30So some of the ones in this field will go up against, you know, pure Scottish Highlands next year at the competition?
09:36Yep. We've got two heifers hopefully picked out that they're going to very soon start getting the TLC treatment for next year's shows.
09:45Don't get me wrong, there will be breeders that will be shaking their head at this.
09:48But you've got to try these new things and at the minute I think it is going to be a success.
09:52Aye.
09:53Yeah, fingers crossed anyway.
09:55But it's not just one-way traffic for international Highland relations.
10:00We're in the process as well of sending Scottish genetics back to America as well.
10:06And they've got calves on the ground in America as well.
10:08So it's, yeah, it's great to see the genetics going across the pond.
10:15For Dexter, this represents a huge opportunity to develop the breed internationally.
10:22There's Highland cattle all over the world.
10:24So it's very good to share our genetics across the globe really, I think.
10:29We're pretty proud of what we're doing.
10:31And so you should be, they're bonnie.
10:34As we move into the winter months, the days get shorter and there's much more opportunity to see what's going on in the night sky.
10:47But for best results, it has to be dark.
10:51Shabazz is moving away from the light now to see what's going on in Scotland's skies.
10:57Street lights, windows, car headlamps, all of these contribute to light pollution.
11:07If I really want to see stars, I need to head into the dark.
11:12Here in the Highlands, when the dark skies come, it can feel alive.
11:16And the creative possibility for photographers are endless.
11:19Tom and Tello sits within the Glenlivet Estate, home to one of only two internationally recognised dark sky parks in the country.
11:30The other ones in Galloway.
11:32The Dark Sky International Initiative awards certificates to places that support and promote the quality of their night skies.
11:41We've got really low levels of light pollution.
11:44And that's what's important.
11:46It means we get those incredible night skies without the pollution blocking them out.
11:51Mark Johnston is a ranger with the Crown Estate Scotland, who own Glenlivet.
11:56Oh wow, this is a lovely space.
11:59And he's taken me to the newest of the estate's three dark sky discovery sites, Tom and Tello Skyhide.
12:06Why did the estate build this pavilion?
12:09We've got the dark sky park here, which is amazing, but actually we want some infrastructure for people to come and have a good, comfortable experience
12:15and to be able to experience the wonders of the night sky, but in comfort.
12:19And how important was it to have dark sky park status?
12:22I think it's really important.
12:24It's something that works through the winter months and it can be hard to attract people.
12:28And this sort of area in the winter months, especially now that we get less snowfall as well.
12:32So what we're looking to do, we're looking to create this sense of awe and wonder and to be able to have a place where to educate people.
12:37But it's also nice to have people come and stay here and spend money in the area too.
12:41And what kind of things have you seen here?
12:43Lots of great sites.
12:44So we have the northern lights, there's meteor showers.
12:47My favourite thing is actually sitting in here with groups of people and experiencing them seeing these sites too.
12:54It's about bringing people together as much as it is seeing the stars for me.
12:58I'm a night time novice, but I'm hoping a solid base and a long exposure will get me some decent pictures.
13:10As the dusk dissolves into darkness, I'm joined by amateur astronomer Lydia Fisher.
13:17What's with the red light?
13:19Ah!
13:20The red light helps preserve your night vision.
13:24Lydia and her colleagues take full advantage of Glenlivet's dark sky discovery sites to capture stunning images like this.
13:33How does the SkyHide help you and the local astronomy group?
13:37It provides a focal point for stargazing, telescope sessions and just a really nice venue for us all to get together and just enjoy the night sky.
13:47Any tips for a newbie stargazer like myself?
13:50Yeah, wrap up warm and a pair of binoculars is actually a really great way to learn the sky.
13:54Just hoping I can get some clear skies and get something good.
13:58Yes, patience, that's the other ingredient.
14:00Oh, in fact, I think I'd see my first star of the night.
14:07Glenlivet can certainly deal with the light pollution.
14:11But there's not much the estate can do about cloud.
14:20I think I've finally got something I'm happy with.
14:23But I'm not quite sure what I've captured.
14:26Did I get anything interesting?
14:28Oh, that's a nice photo, Shabazz.
14:31Um, if you can zoom in a little bit.
14:34So what we're looking at here is the Summer Triangle, which was an asterism popularised by Patrick Moore.
14:40What is an asterism?
14:42So an asterism is a group of stars.
14:44It's not a constellation, but it's usually a shape that you would see in the sky.
14:47So we've got the star Deneb, Altair and Vega, one of the brightest stars in the sky.
14:54This is the brightest part of the Milky Way that we can see for a few months over the sort of summer and autumn period.
15:00So we've been pretty lucky then, considering it's been cloudy all over and we've got a small gap to capture this.
15:05Yeah, I'd say so.
15:06And if I've whetted your appetite for a bit of stargazing, good news.
15:10We've got some of the biggest areas of dark sky in Europe.
15:15So look up as the night's drawing.
15:21Here in Scotland, we're seeing the effects of climate change firsthand and the race is on to reduce harmful greenhouse gases.
15:29Rosie's in the South West now, meeting researchers tackling emissions in the dairy industry.
15:40This is the Langhill Dairy Herd, based here at the Barony Campus of Scotland's Rural College in Dumfries and Galloway.
15:48These cows, their mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers and so on, going back 16 generations,
15:54have been carefully studied for more than half a century.
16:00The Langhill Herd, established in 1973, is the world's longest running livestock genetics project.
16:12Cutting edge technology drives innovation.
16:18To precision research, working out exact feed to milk ratios.
16:24Now, the scientists here are interested in another trait too.
16:28How much methane the cows burp out.
16:31In fact, they're trying to breed cows that produce less gas.
16:35It's a project called Cool Cows.
16:42Scottish Government figures calculate that farming is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases,
16:49with cattle contributing to well over 40% of agricultural methane.
16:53I'm catching up with Head of Dairy Research, Professor Richard Dewurst, to find out what they're doing here to address it.
17:02So, selective breeding is what farmers have been doing for centuries, identifying animals that they like the look of, like the traits of, and want to breed their replacement animals from.
17:12So, historically, they used to select particularly for milk production and milk composition.
17:19But these days, there's a whole range of traits that we can look at.
17:22We can include health and fertility into the mix.
17:24And what we're doing now is adding in things like the methane emissions.
17:30Right. Yeah, these ones are certainly very interested in us.
17:34Some cows naturally produce less methane than others.
17:38Selectively breeding with those animals should produce calves emitting less methane.
17:42But selecting those traits is a process that takes time.
17:48Breeding is quite a slow process, maybe 1% a year or 1% or 2% for every generation.
17:57It's quite slow.
17:59But the thing about breeding is that it persists.
18:01Once it gets into the genes of the animal, you've got that benefit forever in its offspring and their offspring and all the way through the generations.
18:08The scientists here are fast tracking things, using in vitro fertilisation or IVF.
18:19That's how these calves have been bred.
18:23The IVF process allows us to collect eggs from relatively young heifer calves and fertilise them in a petri dish in the laboratory.
18:33So we can effectively breed from animals when they're maybe six months old.
18:39So that accelerates the rate of progress with breeding.
18:43The embryo is transferred into an older cow as a surrogate.
18:47This allows the researchers to produce methane-efficient dairy cows more quickly by reducing the time between each generation.
18:55But is it working? This odd-looking equipment should tell us. As the calves develop, it will measure how much methane they produce.
19:11This is the machine. What do we call it?
19:13Yeah, this is the green feed machine that we use to measure the methane emissions for cows or calves.
19:21The central feature of the equipment is that it's a feeding station.
19:25To a cow or a calf that's coming to this unit, it just looks like a place to get feed.
19:29So we program the equipment to feed perhaps every 30 seconds to drop a few pellets.
19:37That keeps the cow really interested. They're very motivated to have this type of feed.
19:42And they stay there with their head in the unit.
19:45Unbeknown to them, we're collecting all of the breath that's being produced.
19:48And there's a sensor for measuring methane.
19:52And we use that information to estimate the methane emissions.
19:57The trick is the sweeties.
19:59Absolutely. The cows love this stuff.
20:06There's a huge challenge for every industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
20:11And the work here is going some way to address the changes that agriculture needs to make.
20:16The information we get about methane emissions and understanding the genetic basis of it,
20:22that will contribute in the longer term to reductions.
20:26Farmers would be able to buy bulls that have lower methane emissions,
20:31prove that we're actually reducing emissions.
20:33Well, I think there's a queue forming behind me.
20:36A very orderly queue.
20:38So we should probably let them get their feed.
20:40Anne's heading to an island in Argyle now, to meet a creative couple with grand designs on an historic building.
20:53This is Banjo Beale. You might know him from the BBC's interior design series, Designing the Hebrides.
21:06He's also a colleague of mine on Scotland's Home of the Year.
21:11Punch, punch, punch.
21:12There's some challenges, so I don't know whether it's a stupid idea or the best idea I've ever had.
21:22But now he's moved from his adopted island home of Mull to Ulva.
21:28Alongside his husband Ro, dog grandpa, some builders and a film crew following their progress.
21:36Trying to teach him to sit.
21:39They're taking on their biggest challenge to date, transforming the former Laird's derelict mansion.
21:48Here we are.
21:49Oh, gorgeous.
21:50Beautiful.
21:51It is beautiful.
21:52It's a work in progress.
21:54But this time it's home for some very special clients, themselves.
21:59While filming's on pause, no thanks to the weather, we find cover out of the way.
22:06A bit of shelter.
22:07Dry.
22:09It's a bit fresh.
22:10I don't know.
22:11Tell me about the plan then.
22:12What is the project?
22:14Well, it's the grand plan, isn't it?
22:17We've taken on what's called the repair lease on the old Laird's house on the island.
22:22So we're renting this big crumbling mansion and we're hoping to turn it into our home and maybe a hotel if we ever get there.
22:30So if we can live in a great place, do some renovations, make a little bit of money and then some of the profit goes back to the community, great.
22:40It's a fun thing to do.
22:42That's the plan.
22:43The reality is a lot muddier and messier and lots of stress.
22:48Dirtier.
22:49And more expensive than you can imagine.
22:51Yeah, I'm really surprised about what things cost.
22:54This category B-listed mansion was built in 1955 on the footprint of the previous Alva house.
23:05But with the house having sat empty for eight years, the state of disrepair was very extensive.
23:16So these two Australians are now taking up the challenge of securing materials and labour for the job on an island, off an island.
23:25We're very lucky we've got a really supportive community, which we rely on a lot, but we're definitely going to owe quite a few favours.
23:34Yeah, we'll be paying for that for a while.
23:36Yeah.
23:37But also the tradespeople that do come are up for the adventure and if they're not, they quickly leave.
23:42But when you have to tell them where Alva is, they're like, Alva, and you're like, oh, yeah, it's off the West Coast.
23:48It's got an off the West Coast of Melbourne.
23:49And they're like, oh, we don't service that area.
23:51Oh, really?
23:52Yeah.
23:53Okay.
23:54Yeah.
23:55But it's fine.
23:56Keeps the riffrapp out.
23:57Only the real hardy, adventurous types.
23:58That's where you need to be to kind of get on with it here, really.
24:01Yeah.
24:02I'd love to get involved and help with something if you've got any work that's ongoing.
24:06I've got a to-do list as long as our arms that we could put you to work.
24:11Okay, good.
24:12Yeah.
24:16With the elements still challenging us, Banjo and Ro have taken me to an even more unusual place to work.
24:24Feels a bit like a horse box to me, but I'm curious to see what creative task he has in mind.
24:31It's very laborious.
24:33I'm trying to sand off just the first layer of paint, so I need delicate hands.
24:38Okay, can I help then?
24:39You can help.
24:40Yeah.
24:41A little bit of sanding.
24:44What's the plan for this table then?
24:46Where will you have it in the house?
24:48Well, this one might go in the orangery.
24:50Ooh.
24:51Yes, we have an orangery.
24:52Nice.
24:53Well, it's just a sitting room, but I'm going to fill it with plants and call it an orangery, because that sounds fancy.
25:04For the couple, transforming this house into an island hotel isn't just about testing their renovation and design skills.
25:11It's a heartfelt mission to breathe new life into a small island, driven by the spirit of the 16 people who call it home.
25:21We're part of this community owned island, so we all have to kind of work together to realize the vision of this place and also coming up with creative ideas to kind of keep the island alive and thriving.
25:34Not just seasonally, but all year round, because that's what's going to make it a really lovely community driven place to live.
25:40So hopefully we're contributing to that.
25:43Yeah. And it's just so beautiful.
25:45That was the thing.
25:46When I came here, I couldn't believe this beautiful part of the world existed just around the corner and we hadn't seen it.
25:53Everyone has thought we're crazy doing it.
25:55But if we didn't do it, like, I mean, you've got to shoot your shot and the building's getting saved.
26:01We're going a little bit mad in the process, but we'll have a really nice building at the end of the day.
26:07And maybe it will, you know, have some people come and stay.
26:11Yeah.
26:12Hopefully.
26:13I look forward to coming to see it finished.
26:15I'm coming to stay in the hotel, if you'll have me.
26:17Best suite in the house for me, though.
26:19Naturally.
26:20Yeah, you won't be in a horse box next time.
26:22I don't know, people would pay to stay in a horse box.
26:24I know.
26:25I know.
26:26And you can follow Banjo and Roe's progress on the BBC Scotland channel early next year.
26:38That brings us to the end of this programme.
26:41If you'd like to watch it again or catch up with some of our previous episodes, go to the BBC iPlayer and search for Lanward.
26:48Next time, we are all about autumn.
26:54I'm tracking down the monarch of the Glen in the annual deer rut.
26:58He's a big boy, isn't he?
27:00Yeah, he's a good stag.
27:03Arlene's on a fungi foray deep underground.
27:06Oh, my.
27:07And Rosie meets the man bringing some fizz to the apple harvest.
27:16Please join us for that and much, much more if you can.
27:19In the meantime, from all the Lanward teams around the country,
27:22and especially from me here with these beautiful Clyde Manningshire Highlands,
27:26thank you so much for your company.
27:28Bye for now.
27:37Bye for now.
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