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00:01Across Scotland's remote and rugged landscapes...
00:04It's absolutely out of this world.
00:08..farming families...
00:09Keep going. Well done.
00:10..are working harder than ever...
00:12..to make a living.
00:15Blood, sweat and tears went into them.
00:21..embracing new ideas...
00:23He's in.
00:24Perfect.
00:25Abi?
00:26..and preserving ancient traditions.
00:28His goal was to get us to love it,
00:30and he's definitely achieved that.
00:32..trying to ensure the future for the next generation.
00:36Would you prefer to be farming or school?
00:38Farmer.
00:39..in challenging times.
00:41Are they going to take away our farm just yet?
00:44When you see this, you have to deal with the problem.
00:47It's quite heartbreaking.
00:49Five families...
00:50Please.
00:51..share their struggles.
00:52I don't even know why I'm crying.
00:54It happens all the time.
00:56It's all very stressful.
00:58Oh, my goodness.
00:59..and celebrate their triumphs.
01:01It's landing.
01:02Isn't that not just the most beautiful thing you could see?
01:05That's why I do it.
01:15..the fields are frozen.
01:18The fields are frozen...
01:18..and the days are still short.
01:20But farmers are already planning and preparing for spring.
01:25Go on. Get off.
01:26..and the busy months of new life to come.
01:33lying 24 miles off the northwest coast of Scotland the Isle of Lewis forms the northern tip of the
01:41outer Hebrides rugged and windswept for generations islanders have farmed small plots of land here
01:50known as Crofts stand there stand there lie down I do it's a good time on Yalla grow Croft at
02:01South
02:02Braggar Ali Williamson sky sky look back 13 year old daughter Bethany stand away and 15 year old son
02:15Noah my gloves take them off you're so dramatic are working together to gather in some of their
02:22flock for pregnancy scanning so we're heading back towards the house we've got a mile to go
02:28so a wee bit more work for the dogs but good exercise all the same with nearly 400 acres to
02:37cover on foot it will take all afternoon to round up a hundred ewes we've just got a hug
02:44this fence line up until the hill and then take everything that's here and kind of meet it with
02:49best things that's gonna go time it perfectly God Ali inherited the Croft when he was Noah's age
03:00starting with just four acres and 13 sheep but my dad's just he's loved sheep ever since he was born
03:08you know he was he took interest into it straight away he's non-stop he's always working but he's
03:15loved it and I think his goal was to get us to love it and that's he's definitely achieved that
03:21I think
03:21yeah there's a big batch of sheep right in front of me Noah you need to put them along the
03:31fence I think
03:34when I was in school the crofting wasn't something that anybody really wanted to get into because it
03:40was seen as I almost like a dead-end way of life and there was no future around I actually
03:44were bullied
03:44for it so they're saying I had sheep when I was younger but it's no it's no not seen like
03:51that all
03:53like me it's taken a turn since then with the younger people come out and stand on the road down
04:01that
04:01side down towards our house okay the kids are willing to do things and be involved in things well done
04:12but it's hard to make a living just from crofting we don't have the greatest of fields and the freshest
04:18of
04:18grass this can sometimes be a struggle even I am not able to work full-time in the croft as
04:25much as I
04:25would love to it doesn't produce or give me enough of an income throughout the whole 12 months of the
04:31year which means Ali takes on joinery work over the winter but my driving force now is far stronger than
04:40it ever was because the kids are behind it and I have something that I can pass all my efforts
04:49on to
04:51you look like you've walked about 50 miles no because I felt I feel like I have if it weren't
04:59for
04:59my dad I would have never gotten into see even if he hasn't made your setbacks you won't just just
05:04pack it in and call it a day he'll he'll keep going and he'll build up to where he was
05:07and go even
05:08further and he just won't give up Ali's managed to build his flock of black-faced sheep to over 700
05:20tomorrow's pregnancy scanning is judgment day for 300 of them well we'll get them in the road and then
05:27I'll stop worrying about scanning because it's the worst it's the worst day of the year by a mile just
05:33simply for the fact that everything rests on it and the rest of your year rest on that well that
05:39was the last batch
05:43that's us it's just in time for the sunset as well so good day
05:50even for those born into farming making a living from the land is tough
05:59for newcomers the stakes are often even higher in the fertile rolling hills of Scotland's southern
06:11uplands near Moffat you coming in with me 29 year old Adam and 26 year old Lucy Johnston with their
06:22three-year-old son Fred he was wiggling his bum at you are running two farms over 350 miles apart
06:33I hide right come on then one two three they're on the cusp of making the farm they bought last
06:42year in
06:43Scotland they're forever home ready or not here I come you're meant to hide yeah we found this farm
06:54about 12 months ago it just fell in love with it to be honest it's just a lovely spot isn't
06:59it and
06:59it's not far from where I was born it was definitely a heart sort of purchase rather than a head
07:04purchase
07:05wasn't it it just felt right walking around felt like home yeah Lucy and Adam are also tenants of a
07:14dairy farm in Hampshire which for financial reasons they needed to keep going our business down there
07:21is doing well we've got a good good milk contract there's some level of financial security that comes
07:26with having a milk check every two weeks isn't there as much as old Newton we definitely saw it
07:32as a forever a home here it doesn't have enough space for our dairy herd and we don't have the
07:38grazing ground from our milking cows so for the past year we've been running between the two farms which
07:43I think is what 350 miles or so between them 357 so it's been taking a fair toll on us
07:52where's dad gone
07:57when they're away running the farm in Hampshire Keira and Craig manage the Scottish farm right we're
08:04gonna leave the vets here now she's got some serious work to do today with vet John Hamilton they're dehorning
08:12120 wagyu whole stone cross beef calves we do it slightly differently to the traditional way we
08:20anesthetize all the calves just makes it easier for management and and there's a lot of research into
08:25it being better for them and less of a drop in their growth that's that nice and quick nice and
08:29stress-free takes 10 minutes they'll get a bit sleepy and find a bit of space just to have a
08:34little
08:35snooze how long does it take you to drive up from Hampshire normally it's not too bad it's like five
08:40and
08:40a half six hours but last night was eight all right roadworks traffic soon though the arduous commute
08:51should be a thing of the past they're buying a second fully equipped dairy farm that's just 15
08:57minutes away the new farm also comes with a profitable egg business yeah it's a pretty predictable
09:04business model which is really the reason that we managed to get the land that we've got isn't it
09:09sort of the the dairy will turn over around about 500,000 we'll do similar with the beef enterprise
09:16and then the laying hens will be about 1.2 million ish so the new new monthly mortgage figure that
09:24we'll
09:25be about 30,000 a month which is eye-watering to be honest the biggest thing it'll allow us to
09:34do is be in one place as a family
09:38they'll also be on hand to manage the regular dehorning of beef cattle the born with horns which we don't
09:45really need on them and we remove them basically for welfare reasons so there's no injuries between
09:49cattle and for safety reasons as well unfortunately removing the horns is a painful process so that's
09:55why we're getting a local anesthetic pain relief and sedation as well now the calves have all nodded off
10:02Lucy gets to work with the dehorning iron so as a flame in the middle it just burns the horn
10:08off you
10:09just want to take the nub out of the center and then the horn just won't grow back are you
10:15going to do this
10:15when you're older are you gonna be a farmer when you're older a police and a farmer wow whilst the
10:25calves are sedated vet assistant David helps with the second more delicate job so we make a small wound
10:34and I'm basically just removing the testicle so I'm just snapping it off a point but it's not going to
10:41actually cause any actually curve and then we'll follow up with some antibiotic spray just to stop
10:45any infection didn't as well I swear you are a little terrorist as a definition of working home with
11:00your toddler as farmers we have to permanently work from home with our children and it's outrageous
11:10their bold new venture should significantly improve family work-life balance but their plans to move
11:17up with their dairy herd rest on the purchase of the nearby dairy farm going through we have kind
11:23of got into the depths of the legal paperwork for the farm down the road we're trying to deal with
11:28the
11:28banks we've got three different solicitors that we're trying to deal with yeah there's just feels
11:33like there's so many open ends and I really struggle with that because I just want answers
11:37and I want certainty and I don't want to know when we're moving what we're doing I keep saying or
11:42every week it's gonna get easier it's gonna get better but we'll see so these cows should wake up been
11:51about the next half hour or so you can see a few starting to get up already and hopefully they'll
11:57be up back up by tea time then starting up and maintaining a foothold and farming in the UK is
12:06an
12:06expensive business in the outer Hebrides where fertilizer fuel and feed can cost at least 20% more than
12:16on the mainland crofters rely on pulling together to survive it's 7 a.m. and an early start in South
12:27Braggar for Ali Noah and Bethany are the ones in the middle should we be holding pens yeah so we're
12:34going to try and narrow this in a bit now and the scanner box will be here somewhere he's scanning
12:40300 of
12:41his flock today to take a few handful over along with a few hundred belonging to other local crofters
12:49the cost of bringing the scanner over from the mainland will be shared it's often certainly in
12:55the islands that we we're in it very much survives because we the few that are still actively crafting
13:05work together as much as possible it continues drafting on so it's a big factor and why we do
13:12things together and how we do things together I think it's becoming kind of a more of a community
13:18mindset that way the islands rough grazing means ewes can't support multiple offspring Ali won't be
13:26expecting the high percentages of lambs at a mainland farm with rich pasture can produce the darker hills and
13:33the what we call black hills which aren't as fertile they can only sustain that hundred percent that
13:40one lamb per you so if we are running about one two five today I'll be delighted I think we're
13:47set
13:48the small-scale nature of crofting means that some of his neighbors will only bring a dozen or so sheep
14:02personally I've got 15 scanning today it makes life so much easier if people had to pay individually for a
14:10scanner to come up it would cost an unbelievable amount stick it stick it in with those ones and that's
14:16it
14:17it's one of the focal points in the sheep calendar that draws everyone together especially after
14:22winter you know well they fit I hope it's nice because it's like back to the old style where
14:29everybody kind of gathered their sheep together and but not a lot of people do that anymore you know good
14:33enough that we did Ali's dad Gordon was a policeman in Glasgow before he married into a crofting family
14:44feeding the troops is his job today we've got the rolls and sandwiches and hot soup Ali's been into farming
14:54around to sheep since he could walk he's never lost his passion for sheep his knowledge has just grown
15:02and grown and grown and grown and grown and grown I don't want to butter him up but yeah I'm
15:10proud of what
15:11he's achieved the scanner man sets up happy there and they're off okay put it all the way in
15:26there's no particular order basically and we'll just go go through them as they come the sheep are
15:33marked to show how many lambs they're carrying right you let the next lot up Noah shut that gate Noah's
15:46building up his own small flock of pedigree herdwicks these are Noah's project which he he loves dearly
15:54they're sheep from the lake district they're not for me but the way the way I see things is
15:59everybody's got learn by their mistakes and then no I'll soon learn he doesn't like them but everyone
16:05else who's seen them like loves them he's the only one he's he's just not full in the crowd today's
16:11scanning numbers have a lot riding on them I didn't want any of them to be empty and so far
16:18so good
16:19but I don't want to jinx myself
16:23that was twins twins single under single none of these buggers empty no no his flock of 14 is
16:34expecting 17 lambs he's actually done very well I'm done I'm chuffed for him yeah he really cares about
16:39it so it's a it's good that there's kind of future and continuity in his flock even if I don't
16:45want
16:45them dad's sheep are up next only about 100 to go at the moment it's I think we're okay there's
16:56a few
16:56a few more empties in this one and probably I liked so we'll we'll calculate it all at the end
17:03and
17:03hopefully we're all right we're all right I think we're okay
17:11118
17:15that's 118 percent so it's slightly maybe less than I hoped but on the whole I think that's that's
17:22that's pretty decent so well we'll we'll be okay we'll be okay not a bad result overall
17:29cheers and a good result for Ali's fellow crofters too at 33 sheep and 44 lambs so we're happy with
17:38that I think we've only got four empty out of 82 so can't complain at all yeah good day
17:53wild and wonderful there's a reason why sheep dominate the Scottish landscape and farming calendar
18:0085% of Scotland's agricultural land is challenging for production only hardy livestock can thrive here
18:10chief among them sheep at 6.5 million they outnumber people and keep 17,000 farms and crofts busy
18:24at the far end of the rugged and wild Kintyre Peninsula on their farm near Campbelltown
18:32the Glen family are gathering their flock of 400 Scottish mules and blackface sheep
18:41Andrew and his partner Gail need to bring the sheep down off the hill to dose them against fluke
18:49a parasite that causes liver damage
18:55dad Terence is rounding up escapees
19:00whilst 22-month-old Lachlan has come along for the ride
19:05right that's just ready to go
19:09it's just a bit wet
19:11leave it
19:14I'm going over here Gail
19:15right
19:20keep you forward dad
19:22they're alright
19:22they're going
19:25he'll let me lie down if he goes too hard
19:27Bob, lie down
19:31I just love the sheep
19:32you'd know that to look at me
19:34no, I'm a cattle man
19:38change into the yard
19:39so you have to go with what they're looking for
19:44and there are more adjustments on the horizon
19:47Terence has managed the farm for the last 30 years
19:50but has suffered some serious health issues
19:54they're coming
19:55so Andrew is taking on more responsibility
19:59I'm not trying to ever push him off the farm
20:01I want him to just have an option to do so
20:03and provide him a little capital to have a good time doing it
20:08that's you
20:09I think being in the house a lot drives your dad stir crazy
20:12yeah
20:15he much prefers being out and about
20:18but at least if we can have that choice
20:20and where he can at least slow down if nothing else
20:24for now
20:25Terence is still very involved
20:29right
20:29let me try to see if I know what I'm doing
20:32come on, come on you
20:33come on you
20:34heat up
20:35heat up
20:37heat up
20:39how's the sheep are coming?
20:41are you telling me a story?
20:43is that what you're doing?
20:44come and telling me stories?
20:46Granda, are you doing that right?
20:48I'm being definitely told what to do
20:50even the youngest
20:52in order to rely less on his dad in the future
20:56Andrew needs to run the farm with less manpower
20:58there we go
21:00one solution is new tech
21:04we're getting all of the sheep into the new system
21:07we're scanning all the tags
21:09it's putting it into an app
21:10so then we can keep track of everything
21:11and what's going on
21:13we don't have to go through a hundred different books
21:15and worry about all that sort of stuff
21:18so then
21:19the little chip's just inside there
21:21so there's 607
21:24so it's to streamline things mainly
21:26it's to get away from dad
21:27so then he doesn't have to look after him anymore
21:30why could you not have done that in the first place?
21:33I get the sample jobs
21:34I'm definitely not working with the tags
21:37or entering it into the phone
21:41though if I was taught how to do it
21:43I probably could do it
21:45you don't want to be taught?
21:46I don't want to be taught
21:50modern technology should make things easier
21:53but convincing Terence to put his feet up more
21:56is another matter
21:58farmers don't retire
22:00they just die off
22:02that's about the height of it
22:04that's a way of life for us
22:06I don't mind the physical side
22:08to tell you the truth
22:09I was always used physical
22:11doing physical labour
22:14and this spring
22:16he'll definitely be needed for lambing
22:18as Gail's expecting her second baby
22:20I would usually take three weeks off work at lambing time
22:24and just be in that lambing shed
22:26from morning till night basically
22:28so because I'll be still pregnant
22:31come the start of April
22:32I'm not able to touch a year
22:35you're not allowed to come in contact
22:36with any of their birth matter
22:40anything like that
22:41and it's all just due to the infection risk
22:43so I won't be anywhere near the lambing shed
22:46which will put a lot more pressure on Andrew
22:49which is a shame
22:50but we can't always time these things
22:52come on
22:53up
22:56on average
22:57farmers take less than one day off a month
23:01but at Old Newton Farm in Moffat
23:05Lucy and Adam are currently stretched across two farms
23:08hundreds of miles apart
23:13a workload that's not for the faint-hearted
23:17you're not going to help mummy?
23:18no
23:19no?
23:20yeah
23:21it's the morning rounds
23:23it was that a pretend put them in was it?
23:27they go good job
23:28the calves have woken up hungry
23:30good morning
23:32good morning
23:33some only a few weeks old
23:35are still on a diet of powdered milk
23:38they're just getting their morning milk breakfast
23:41tomorrow it's the long drive south
23:44and straight into the demands of the farm back in Hampshire
23:48but this pair are no strangers to challenge
23:55eight years ago
23:56Adam had an injury that resulted in life-changing surgery
24:00a below-the-knee amputation
24:04yeah it swells up a wee bit
24:05and then I suffer for a couple of hours in the morning
24:09so yeah best not to
24:10not to have too much time off really
24:13just swells and then cuts the blood off to the
24:16the bottom of the stump
24:17which isn't particularly nice
24:19isn't it mate?
24:23yeah I had a wee accident playing rugby
24:25which left me with a weakness in my lower leg
24:28yeah you can jump up and help if you want
24:30if you get that one over there
24:32tried to rehab it and sort it surgically
24:35and just wasn't too successful in the end
24:38so yeah made the difficult choice to
24:43have it off and get back up and mobile basically
24:45yeah we'll do the next pen will we?
24:48Lucy met Adam only a few months before his amputation
24:53Adam pretty quickly
24:54when we first started dating told me
24:56I'm chopping off my leg
24:58so if you don't like it
24:59probably don't stay with me
25:01so that was a quick introduction into Adam's bloodness
25:04and then we were kind of
25:05a bit inseparable ever since
25:07where is it?
25:09yeah that one
25:10that's him
25:11you're going to do it?
25:12at the time of the accident
25:13Adam was in the Royal Marines
25:16life in the Marines was probably a wee bit different
25:17to what life is now
25:21yeah probably no less exciting anyway
25:23no the Marines was definitely more exciting
25:26he's lying right there
25:27he had to be invalided out
25:30but as one door closed
25:32another door into farming opened
25:34getting a farm has always been the dream
25:36since it was wee probably
25:36we'd applied for a few
25:39and been unsuccessful
25:40and sort of gave up
25:42and then applied for another few
25:43and eventually got lucky enough
25:45to land the tenants
25:47that we've got in Hampshire
25:48at the minute
25:48and it sort of just rolled on from there really
25:51you got another you've had?
25:53as well as beef and dairy cattle
25:55they also farm 240 deer for venison
26:03I don't think anything will be as stressful
26:06as Adam going through the amputation
26:09when you go through such a huge life event
26:11you quickly decide if you like each other
26:14it was a pretty good test for a relationship early on
26:16to see if it would work out
26:18considering how many surgeries he had
26:20which we didn't really expect
26:22he never let that stop him
26:24Adam was so strong and so resilient
26:27and he wasn't prepared to fail
26:29that that's probably what got him through
26:31and his stubbornness
26:34not the way kids
26:38that is enough for them isn't it?
26:40perfect
26:42now they're on the brink of their new farming life in Scotland
26:46try it, I'll catch you at the end
26:51but there's still a lot to negotiate
26:53on the purchase of the dairy farm
26:55including bringing the moving date forward to mid-March
26:58who needs to pay for a softly entry?
27:01any later and disease restriction rules
27:04mean they won't have a license to move their herd
27:08negotiations are ongoing on stuff
27:11and we're sort of dialing into the negotiations
27:14up here for the entrance into the other place
27:17hoping to sign missus in the next week or so
27:22you can only be optimistic for so long in these circumstances
27:26and sometimes that wears off a little bit
27:27and the fear and the worry sets in
27:31it'll be exciting to start getting things sorted
27:33and make sure that our plan does work
27:42determination and hard work have got them this far
27:46but there's still a long way to go
27:5580 miles west on Kintyre
27:58as well as sheep
27:59the Glen family keep a small herd of cattle
28:02on their sheltered land by the shore
28:07now they have just 16 hardy Hebridee and Ling
28:10Limousine and Charolais
28:14they're nice and tame
28:15that's the way you like it
28:17in the past
28:18Terence looked after a herd of 120
28:21come on girls
28:23come on girls
28:27there are not so many of them now
28:30there are very few left
28:33but that's the way Andrew wants it
28:36hello pet
28:37you're a lovely girl
28:40Andrew likes sheep better
28:42where I like to work with my cattle
28:45but I can see there's a place for them here
28:47but Andrew has a vision that
28:50he knows and that he wants to go that direction
28:53so he's the next generation
28:56so come on
28:58I will stick my oar in at times
29:01and say if I think it's not maybe going in the direction it should be
29:05but it's hard
29:06when your forefather's dead and your forefather before that
29:10so
29:12it's opened my eyes that there is a different way of doing things
29:16definitely have
29:21this is my happy place doing this
29:23you couldn't get a nicer spot to do it
29:27as fond as Terence is of cattle
29:29they're more labour intensive than sheep
29:3210 years ago we started cutting back
29:35but that was more to do
29:37at that stage it was more to do with my health
29:39I had been push, push, pushing the whole time
29:42and then you just get to a stage where the body can't take any more
29:49Terence had recently had a major stroke
29:51which forced him to take things more easy
29:53and led Andrew to increase sheep numbers
29:56with their lighter workload
29:59you're not really wanting anything to do
30:01are you?
30:02no
30:03and just over two years ago
30:05he found out he also has prostate cancer
30:08when you get a phone call and the person on the other end says
30:13I'm sorry but you've got cancer
30:17that, I mean the girl kept chatting away to me after that
30:23but I never heard another thing after I heard that
30:27you've got cancer
30:30but I'm one of the lucky ones
30:32I have active surveillance
30:33so they just keep a really close eye on me
30:37and they're great
30:39nobody wants to ever hear those words
30:41but I was very lucky in the end
30:46it just made me think different about things
30:50you shouldn't stop
30:52and enjoy your surroundings
30:55I could be up over that hill umpteen times
30:58and never stop to really just take in the beauty
31:02and everything, the creation that we have around us
31:08Terence's health issues have brought things into perspective
31:11I'll go down to the afternoon
31:15I would say we're not just father and son, we're friends
31:19I owe him a lot, he's taught me so many things
31:21about how being a man, how to do the farm
31:28Yeah, he's the kindest person ever, isn't he?
31:31He had a lot of faith in me reducing the cattle numbers
31:34but with sheep it's just so much less labour
31:38for the same amount of returns
31:41He put himself through a lot of torment
31:44very late nights for years at a time
31:47breaking himself down just to help me have a good future
31:52So I wanted to provide him with a bit of retirement
31:54as a thank you
31:57To make all that happen and to support his own family
32:01Andrews had to look beyond farming
32:04With the two families being on the farm
32:05there was no way that they could provide enough money
32:09to support everyone
32:11So we had to diversify
32:14Along with glamping pods, he's growing a profitable sideline in plants
32:19This business, 2017, we started it
32:23and then it just sort of grew
32:25I think we're selling about 5,000 plus plants a year
32:29and 20 pallets of compost as well
32:33I know us personally, we could not do without it
32:37Dad would be able to survive
32:38He'd be borderline comfortable
32:40but I wouldn't say he would be well off or anything
32:43It means that I can maybe help provide Dad a bit more of a retirement
32:46considering he's worked his butt off
32:49The plan is in the future to grow up more
32:51because without the diversification
32:53I definitely would not be here
32:57Perfect...ish
32:58Perfect-ish
33:02Farmers have to adapt to survive
33:05For some, that means thinking creatively
33:07For others, it's about honing and perfecting what they already produce
33:13Stand there, that'll do, that'll do
33:15On Lewis
33:17Come, come
33:19Ali is trying to build a reputation for breeding pedigree blackface sheep
33:25I've not opened that box since last year
33:27Look at all the damp, horrible cloths that are in it
33:30Noah, you've not done your job
33:33Good job, we don't need any of that
33:36OK
33:37This year he's hoping success in the show ring will help to boost his sale prices
33:43So we've picked a couple of pedigree blackies
33:46for showing and selling, hopefully, at the in-lamb sale in Dingwall
33:51So we're going to try and spruce them up and get them ready for their big day
33:59It takes years of good breeding
34:01But even then, every competitor needs a pre-show makeover
34:08So the stand is basically there to hold them in place
34:11There'll be a few bits under her belly that we'll trim off
34:14And a little bit of a colour on her to make the whites in her nose, her head and her
34:21legs stand out a bit
34:23I feel that we maybe have, in the past, felt that we weren't able to compete with competitors on the
34:29mainland
34:29Because they had such far superior grazing areas and ground quality
34:35But at the same time, if we're able to produce a product here that's of very good quality, I feel
34:44There is no reason why it can't go to the mainland and actually be as good, if not better, than
34:51the stuff that they have on the mainland
34:53But yeah, quite hopeful of these animals
34:55As long as they don't mess up the colour now and make it pink
34:58We've done that before
35:01After a trim, short back and sides, a bit of colour should highlight her best features
35:08Whoa, it's black
35:11OK, I think we need to tone this down a little bit now
35:14We're looking for a much browner colour than that, as opposed to a blacker colour
35:19So I'm going to dilute it a little bit
35:22Although this looks very, very dark at the moment, it lightens up
35:26Give it time
35:30I'll check it out right down to the gate and then spin our head forward
35:36What do you think of the colour?
35:39It's too dark
35:40Too dark?
35:40Hopefully it'll lighten out
35:43I'm just going to see that anyway
35:45Then we'll see what happens
35:48Their salon disaster should tone down after a week outside
35:53And if not, they'll at least stand out from the crowd
36:01After the long 350-mile drive to southern England
36:05Lucy and Adam are back at the dairy farm they rent in Hampshire
36:10Go on, Ash
36:12Good girl
36:14Working with Peter, who helps in the parlour
36:17It's time for the afternoon milking
36:20I'm a little bit hazy on them, but the rest of them
36:23Have you got names if they're favourites?
36:25Or I can tell them by just the back of them
36:29With a projected annual turnover of around 2.2 million
36:33From their dairy, beef and the new free-range egg business
36:36Their bank is willing to lend them the extra 2 million
36:39To buy the dairy farm near Moffitt
36:42How am I last?
36:44It's a huge amount to borrow
36:45So Lucy's dad, a businessman himself
36:49Has offered to go through their figures
36:50I'm excited the non-farming aspect he can bring to our business
36:55He'll probably see things that we don't see
36:57Because we're on the day-to-day of farming
37:00So it should be really good
37:03One thing I wouldn't mind trying to do today
37:05Just go through the numbers on the spreadsheet
37:07And just see some quite detailed
37:12Confusing, you mean?
37:13I love his spreadsheet
37:15I like your spreadsheet
37:17He pays more attention to that spreadsheet than he does me, so
37:20Lucy's dad, Simon, has 30 years valuable experience in the car trade
37:25What I love about what you're doing, what this business is
37:29Is that there is so many different strings of the bow
37:32It's the first few years we've got to get through
37:33Yeah
37:34We should be really looking at this
37:37OK, one hand, how do we pay our mortgage, how do we do that?
37:41But also, can we farm in a way that's pretty exciting and forward-thinking?
37:45And can we combine the two?
37:47I want to keep in the forefront how we farm
37:48I don't want to lose that
37:50But you know, it's not a charity, is it?
37:52No, it's got to wipe its face, yeah
37:54It's got to work
37:55What I don't want to do is you guys end up doing it all for nothing
37:59You know, and you are
38:00Because there's a lot of work involved in it
38:02Really, with dad, I think you would really value someone just to sense-check something
38:07On a finance side of things or an accountancy point of view or something like that
38:11To ring and say, hang on a second, I'm not quite sure on this
38:15Hopefully, Bella, have that fresh head where I'm not buried in the business
38:19Yeah
38:20I think, from the farming families that I know, it's a lot easier when you've got the ability to have
38:26a farm passed down on you
38:28I think it's a lot harder for them to achieve that without that sort of leg up
38:36I'm worried about the hours that Lucy and Adam are going to have to do to make the farm work
38:42It's a brutal, long, long, long week
38:48But yeah, hopefully we can change that and make it easier for them to run the two farms
38:58Lucy and Adam may not have inherited a farm, but they do have invaluable support from their families
39:06Right, I'm just going to let these cows out
39:09Plans to relocate the herd to Scotland depend on bringing the completion date of the dairy farm earlier
39:15And there's been a development
39:17Yeah, we've had a bit of good news this morning in that we can bring the completion date of the
39:22purchase forward
39:23By a few weeks, which helps us line up with the Blue Tongue season
39:27Because we were told by the government basically we had to get cattle shifted by the middle of March
39:32Otherwise there was a possibility that it wouldn't happen until next winter
39:37Yeah, super positive and a massive step forward for us
39:41To move cattle from England to Scotland is a pretty complicated process we're learning as we go
39:47But as one piece of the puzzle falls into place
39:51A further huge complication looms
39:54Stringent restrictions around the lung disease, tuberculosis
39:58TB is something that's fairly prevalent down here
40:02And it's TB free in Scotland
40:04So we are kind of working as to what that looks like and what's the least risky way of moving
40:11our cattle
40:13So yeah, we didn't really quite realise how many hoops we had to jump through
40:18It's a lot isn't it?
40:19Yeah
40:23The whole herd will have to test negative for TB
40:27Just two days before they're due to move
40:35350 miles north on the Kintyre Peninsula
40:39The Glen family have their own day of reckoning
40:44I've got them now
40:45The whole flock is being pregnancy scanned today
40:48And the sheep are still recovering from a difficult few months
40:53The farm has taken some hard knocks this winter
40:56The result of devastating storms
41:00Back in January
41:01Wind speeds of 100 miles per hour
41:04Left a trail of destruction
41:06So the main bit of damage we had last night
41:09Is now we have a convertible polytunnel
41:13Tree came down on it and ripped the cover off
41:17Yeah, another expensive storm
41:19In December, torrential rain caused a deluge of water to rush through the farm buildings
41:30That's a foot and a half of water coming through that doorway
41:35And in the nearby low-lying fields, the storm was deadly for the sheep
41:42Andrew has since pieced together what happened
41:45They started out at the beginning of the night, up the top corner of the field, nice high and dry
41:49But as all the water poured down here, they got pushed closer and closer to the edge
41:54Fence broke, as you can see a strainer broke and they just got washed into the river
41:58Yeah, we didn't find many alive anyway
42:00They lost 59 sheep, including two prized tups
42:0613,000 pounds worth of precious livestock
42:10The morning after was a struggle
42:12You can't avoid that first bit of motion when you see this, you have to deal with the problem
42:19No, it was quite heartbreaking
42:24Walk up! Walk up!
42:26Many of the ewes that survived could have miscarried
42:30Today we'll show how much the storm has affected the sheep
42:35Right
42:37That can stress them so much that they could throw lambs or anything because of it
42:41Ah, don't you be silly
42:44If they've been in the flood and they take some water into their lungs
42:48Sometimes they can get into the bloodstream
42:51And affect the growth of the lambs or anything, so you don't really know
42:56So today we'll tell us how the rest of the sheep at our leaven have done
43:01In just an hour, they'll find out
43:04Come on
43:06You ready?
43:11Right, you just go, go
43:13Today's scan results will have a big impact on the farm's finances
43:18Lambs themselves, they probably make up about 60% of the total farm's profit
43:23Good scans, the difference between profit and not-profit, that's basically all it is
43:26The main thing we're hoping for is not too many that are empty
43:30That's us
43:31The final numbers are in
43:34So the results
43:37Crosses 152
43:38The black days were actually quite a lot lower because they were quite close last year
43:42They're 138 which is
43:44That was terrible
43:45Not terrible
43:46Well not terrible but it's
43:47Wasn't as good as last year either
43:49It was 17 down last year
43:50So the weather has made a wide big difference to it
43:53Well there's not much we can do about it now
43:57So we're down I think about 12%
44:00There were 16 empties which is way more than we'd normally expect
44:0410 out of the 16 empties came from the flooded field
44:08So I think that's probably going to be the reason why they are empty
44:13We'll probably never know for certain so just deal with it and move on to next year
44:18They badly need a good lambing this spring
44:21So they can start to slowly rebuild their flock
44:33In Ullapool
44:36The ferry from Lewis is about to dock
44:40Ali travelled ahead to the mainland the day before
44:44On board is a trailer with his precious cargo
44:49Picking up the sheep that have just come over from Lewis
44:52That we're going to sell tomorrow in Dingwall
44:55I was away so thankfully my dad put them on the ferry for me
44:58We managed to get them on just
45:00The weather's been playing up a bit
45:02But thankfully we've got a wee weather window
45:04And this is what we've managed to do
45:06So hopefully when we get them down to Dingwall
45:08They'll be looking none the worse for the weather
45:11It's now another hour's drive to Dingwall Mart
45:15Where they'll be sold after the show
45:20I'm feeling okay about the sale
45:23It's always hard to judge especially when you're on an island
45:25And you've got no idea what the other sheep are looking like
45:31Our island isn't the most fertile
45:33Obviously we're showing against animals that have been on a better plane of nutrition
45:38So you're always a little bit apprehensive as to how they'll compare
45:44But at the same time I'm still very proud of what we've been able to produce from the croft that
45:50we have
45:53All that work has gone in for years beforehand
45:56But it just happens to lead up for these two sheep to that 30 seconds, one minute that they're in
46:02the ring
46:04The sheep spend the night before the sale at the Mart
46:09Shall we heat these a wee bit just now?
46:11Yeah, we'll start heating them now, yeah
46:13And with the help of fellow sheep breeder Ben
46:16What did you say you were needing?
46:18Seven and eight
46:19They must be branded with their numbers for the sale
46:23But on to which horn is the question?
46:26Right horn, left horn, Ben
46:28Or are we there?
46:29Other one?
46:30How about this one?
46:31Or is it the other one?
46:32It's the other one
46:38Doesn't hurt at all
46:39No?
46:39It's a hard outer shell of the horn
46:41So they won't feel it at all
46:43It's just cosmetic
46:46Going outside the lines
46:48Should have concentrated at school more
46:50It probably is the wrong horn, but it doesn't matter
46:53It's fine, it's fine
46:55She's branded
46:57It's good to be different, isn't it?
46:59If everyone else brands them on the right, we'll brand them on the left
47:03Just give them a final feed and they'll sit down in the pens tonight
47:08There's nothing more we can do now
47:10We'll just have to wait and see what the auctioneers bid us to tomorrow
47:20On Lydgreen Farm in Hampshire
47:23There we go, really
47:25Lucy and Adam are bringing the herd in for pregnancy scanning
47:29A regular cycle of calving is key to milk production
47:33Empty cows aren't financially viable
47:36Come on, lovey
47:38Come on, no, please don't go there
47:41Vet Cameron will scan the herd in batches
47:44The first 40 are up today
47:47Did you wash your car on the way over?
47:49Yep
47:50That's why you're late
47:53Cameron's been working with Lucy and Adam since they became tenants here three years ago
47:58It would be sad to see them go
47:59They've been a nice team to work with
48:02I'd say quite a progressive outlook on how farming can be done
48:07That's Cam's nice way of saying I'm really opinionated
48:12They've been quite keen on their calf health
48:15You know, keeping, certainly rearing the calves on the mothers up until they're about eight weeks old
48:20Which is slightly novel in the dairy industry
48:23Because they've had the opportunity to do it right
48:25And build it themselves
48:28They're then able to do ideas where maybe in a more traditional set-up
48:32You might have, you know, the old brigade there who've done it that way for generations
48:37And changes a slightly scary prospect for them
48:41Right
48:42I'll get you some cows in Cam
48:43Let's do it
48:45Right, who have we got here, Beth?
48:48One, four, six, one
48:51Steady, steady, steady, steady
48:52Good girl, good girl
48:54About nine weeks
48:56Yeah, good, good
48:58Amazing
48:59It's an encouraging start
49:01Four, six, two, oh
49:03Ooh, she's well in, 90 days
49:05Two, four, six, nine
49:07Fifty-six days
49:09Seventy-five days
49:10That's girly
49:11Oh, she's a good girl
49:14Another around about 80 days
49:16Is it a hit?
49:18I don't do sexing
49:19A good vat would
49:21Yeah
49:24Over the last three years
49:25They've become very attached to the herd
49:28You like cows because they're good milkers
49:30I like cows because they've got nice personalities
49:33Well, you should just keep liking her
49:34Because she is 91 days in calf
49:38Good girlies
49:40We've got to the point where I'm really happy with the herd
49:42And we've got a few personal favourites in there as well
49:46Jess
49:479193
49:49Are we sad if Jess is in calf?
49:51No, she's...
49:5288
49:52She will be
49:53Yeah, three months
49:57The results for the next group of cows
49:59Nothing in the uterus
50:03Are more of a mixed bag
50:05What about 2053?
50:06Not in calf
50:07Negative
50:07This black one is probably your last one if you just push her in
50:125181
50:13Another, yeah, 80, 80 odd days
50:1681 days
50:1681, cool
50:17Good
50:19The numbers are in for the cows being scanned today
50:24Oh, yeah, not too bad
50:2632 in calf and 13 empty
50:29Well, it's not been too bad
50:31Good
50:31Happy?
50:33Happy
50:33While plans progress to move the herd to Scotland
50:36The next obstacle to overcome is the TB test
50:41Scotland is very protective of its TB-free status
50:45And Lucy and Adam are bringing in cattle from an area where it's present
50:50We've had a lot of discussion about it
50:53Whilst, you know, there haven't been problems here
50:56If you were to move up and then say there was a local outbreak
50:59It would be very easy for them to point fingers and say, oh, you know, there's these two people come
51:05up from Hampshire
51:07And now there's TB in the local area
51:09So having worked down here for a while now and seeing the implications of it
51:14It's one of those diseases you don't really want to mess around with
51:18Just one positive result would be disastrous
51:22The cows would immediately be quarantined
51:25At worst, it could lead to the slaughter of the entire herd
51:30The nerve started from as soon as we started talking about the plans to move the cattle
51:35Because if one had TB, that would shut everything down
51:40And it's something that we can't control and we can't change and we can't manage
51:45Even though it just sounds like, oh, just get the TB test and then we're away
51:48There's a lot of unknowns to that
51:50And the implication of us having a TB breakdown to a reactor
51:57Would be catastrophic to our business, really
52:01So, yeah, I think the nerves are there already
52:04The earlier completion date on the new dairy farm has been agreed
52:09So they're pushing forward with their plans
52:12But their herd won't be going anywhere unless they all test negative for TB
52:19In the Highlands, at the Martin Dingwall
52:24Ali's hoping today is a chance to build his pedigree reputation
52:29But it will all come down to just a few minutes in the ring
52:35Before the sale gets underway, all the sheep will compete in a show
52:40We'll stick it in there
52:41Ali's roped in fellow island breeder, Fiona, to help with the last minute prep
52:47Though our sheep might not be as fit and fat as some of those who are maybe selling here today
52:51Hopefully, prospective buyers realise that we are from an island, we're from a harder bit of the country
53:01A few finishing touches could make all the difference
53:06This little window or glimpse that some people might get into our islands of the stock that we're producing
53:12It's important to present them as best we possibly can
53:15I don't think we'll get anywhere in the show, to be honest
53:18And that's fine, I accept that
53:20But as long as when I come to present and sell my sheep, they're looking as good as possible
53:26There's no live stream for it or anything, so I'll just get AJ to send you
53:31Maybe he could video call you
53:33Son Noah's at school today, but is still keen to be involved
53:37That was Noah, checking in
53:39How's it going? How's it going? How are you getting on?
53:40It gives me a ride, knowing they're actually thinking about it
53:43Wanting to be here
53:45Any more dimmers, folks?
53:47Ali, what have you got?
53:48No, I've got a gimmer here
53:50You shut that gate for us, Dan
53:51Cheers, lad
53:53The first category to be judged are the young ewes called gimmers
53:57They two are ready to go if you're wanting they two
54:01Ali's gimmer is up against mainland competition from better grazing
54:06I thought my gimmer was going to be tiny compared to them
54:09She's not that bad, eh?
54:11In the final line-up
54:14OK, folks, first prize in the gimmer class
54:17Here is number three from Midlock
54:20These are well done, guys
54:22Ali leaves empty-handed
54:24As expected
54:26As expected
54:27So, we were fifth out of six
54:31Six or something
54:34Next, it's the turn of the older female sheep
54:36The ewes and lamb class
54:44They'll never look any better than today, so
54:50Ali's ewes has made the top three
54:53Now they'll pick a winner
54:55Where do you want us?
54:56I don't know
54:59Fiona has Noah on the line
55:01So he can watch Dad's big moment live
55:05A hundred miles away in Lewes
55:13OK, folks, first prize in your inland ewes section
55:17Thank you very much, sir
55:17Thank you
55:18Well done, Ali
55:22In a shock turn of events
55:24Ali's ewes has seen off the competition
55:27And won her class
55:29I think he'd be really surprised
55:32I could see he was just standing there
55:34I couldn't believe it
55:39Judged against the winner from the gimmer class
55:41Ali's ewes now up for overall champion
55:49With a tap of his crook
55:51The judge picks Ali's ew as champion of champions
55:58APPLAUSE
56:01Thank you, man. Thank you so much
56:03Good for being here
56:04Bye, bye
56:08Just Ali's dad, I was phoning him to tell him
56:11That Ali's won champion
56:14So, yeah, everybody's buzzing now
56:18Thank you very much, sir
56:20That means a lot, coming from yourself
56:21Thank you so much
56:22I didn't see that coming at all
56:25At all, that's way above anything
56:30Possibly we've achieved in the show ring to date
56:33Because of...
56:34In fact, it is, it is
56:36And it's erm...
56:38Yeah
56:40It's down to, kind of
56:41All the work and everything that's going on
56:43From the family as well
56:44So, it means a lot
56:47Erm...
56:47I'm not getting welled up in the camera, I'm anyway
56:52Champion of the day of the show
56:54And it only gets better
56:55750, 550, yeah, we're in there now
56:57750, you're supposed to now
56:58750
57:00Reduce
57:01He sells his prize ew for 750 pounds
57:05250 more than he hoped for
57:09Bonkers
57:10Bonkers
57:12Bonkers
57:14Good job there's not a bar here, actually
57:19Good to see the coffers getting a wee shot now and again
57:21Yeah, yeah, it's good to get a kick of the ball, but
57:25Cheers lads
57:26Thank you, thank you
57:28I like getting a well done from these boys
57:30Farmers who have been there done it
57:31It means a lot
57:35It's an encouragement to keep going
57:36Especially when you're in...
57:38When you will get hard days and
57:39Yeah, everybody gets hard days but
57:42Erm...
57:43It's very good to kind of come out here and
57:45Kind of just focus saying well done
57:47It's a...
57:48It feels like a pat on the back for the efforts
57:51That nobody else sees
58:00Next time, Ali and Bethany are on a mission to gather sheep
58:04From a tiny Hebridean island
58:06Come this way a little bit, Bethany
58:10In Arran, Callum believes his lambs are at risk from predators
58:14The impact the ravens and the sea eagles have had on our lambing
58:19Last year, 40% of our lamb flock was gone
58:22And in Dornoch, it's a school day for Emma and Rob
58:26Anne and Beauregard
58:27It is!
58:28TODD
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