Episode 11 This Farming Life

Across some of the most beautiful and remote landscapes

of the British Isles...

This is not a bad office, is it? You know, look at it.

..Scotland's farmers carve a living.

Everything has a time and a season.

Nature doesn't stop.

Breeding sheep and cattle...

There's a lot of old friends here.

They've come to the end of their working life. Quite a sad day.

Wait a second.

..bringing new life into the world... HE BLOWS

..and battling with the elements.

HE WHISTLES

They're all cute in their own way,

and especially if they end up on your plate as a lamb chop - yum.

-Over a year, five very different families...

-Yay!

..let cameras onto their farms...

Hell of a size of nuts on him.

..and into their lives, to share their struggles...

-I don't know why you want the...

-Do you need to do this?

..and their triumphs.

-SHE GASPS

-Look at my baby.

He's alive.

..as they try and turn a profit in testing economic times.

Well, that's just depressing, that, really.

There's cause for celebration...

Gorgeous.

..and a time to reflect.

I feel sad that I haven't provided

the next generation to carry on here.

But it's never dull

-THEY CHUCKLE

-I'm not letting go!

It's not a job - it's a way of life.

It's summer in Scotland.

COWS MOO

A time of year that many of the farmers look forward to.

Summer's finally here and I love it.

I can finally get out of my wellies and waterproofs.

Cows are all outside,

the grass is lush and green, everything is thriving,

calves, sheep, lambs,

And for the farmer, it is the best time of year

because we get outside and enjoy the sun.

When the weather's right, farming's a great job and I enjoy it.

In the north east of Scotland,

Martin Irvine has a herd of 168 pedigree Limousin.

During the summer months,

his cows and calves graze the fields,

but his bulls stay in a shed where they can be closely monitored.

Twice a year,

Martin makes life-changing decisions about his young bull calves.

By the time they're ten months old, you can see in them the potential

whether they're going to be breeding bulls

or they're going to go into the pen with the beef burger bulls.

Martin's main business is selling the very best of his stock

to other farmers as breeding bulls.

He selects those good enough to make the grade from a young age.

So, these boys are ten months old,

and already, these bulls have got, visually,

the make-up on them to look the part.

So, you can see this lad here,

nice muscly wee bull, nice muscly bum, looks the part,

and at that age, I can tell...I can tell by looking at him,

that he's going to be a bull that's going to stay at this side.

But not every calf shows the same promise.

So, you've got three bulls here.

So, you've got a big lad...you've got a big lad here.

He's nae going to have the same shape as some of them,

but he's got potential to be a big bull and fill out,

so I'll chance him.

I think he's maybe got the making of being a bull.

But you've got the bull in the corner here.

He's just nae got the same shape, he's nae got the same character.

He lacks size, he hasn't got the biggest, shapiest kind of body.

He's just nae right on his legs

so...I would imagine...barley beef pen.

The bulls destined for breeding are given expensive high-protein feed

to keep them in top condition.

The rest are fed on a barley-based feed,

which is a third of the price, and will eventually go to slaughter.

You've to be cruel to be kind,

and feed the best and kill the rest.

This year's cream of the crop are ten-month-old Limousin, Jock,

and 15-month-old Jagermeister,

Martin's only British Charolais bull.

He mainly breeds Limousin, but keeps a few Charolais as a hobby.

Tie him up, I'll do the Lim first.

Martin and his dad, Stevie, have chosen this pair

to enter into the Royal Highland Show,

the most prestigious show in the farming calendar.

Over the past 30 years,

they've won top prizes for their Limousin,

but never a red rosette for a Charolais.

Before they can go,

there's one accessory no bull can do without.

Every bull needs a ring in their nose,

so just need to ring these two guys now.

It's just control, really.

A bull's a big strong animal,

and once you've got control of his nose,

he'll learn if he ever misbehaves

or goes somewhere he shouldn't be going,

you can just tap that ring, and it's just control.

It's a sensitive part of the bull.

And they're big, they're powerful.

The process of inserting the copper ring

is like ear piercing in humans

but on a larger scale.

What you've got is a punch, like a belt punch, really.

There's a punch with a hole here onto a soft bit of leather.

This will go in, it'll pinch his nose.

So, where it's like...

I'll pinch the bit of skin just before the cartilage.

So, I'll take a bite, I'll pull it away from the cartilage,

and that'll put a hole right through his nose,

take away a bit of skin.

And then I'll come in with the ring,

feed that through the hole,

close it...

..and with this screw here, screw it in

and then snap it off,

and that'll leave it all locked up, and there's a bull with his ring.

He will feel it, it's going to...

It's nae as painful as you think -

it'll be more discomfort for a second.

The quicker we do it, the better, really.

So, we're going to apply a bit of pressure.

Stand, stand, stand.

And then...

There we go.

We're left with a hole here, and I'll feed it through.

And that's him officially a man, a bull.

I see it every time the young bulls come in,

they go through stages of growth.

If there's any problems, any defects,

they don't make it as far as this bull.

Once they get their bling, it's official -

they're going to be a bull.

They're worthy of us taking them out to sales and stuff like that.

It's Jagermeister's turn.

BULL GROANS

If they weren't getting a ring,

they'd go into a different pen and be fed up

and they'd be going away into burgers and steaks and...

So, to be honest, that bit of pain there

means they're going to have a better life.

It will be sore for a few days,

but they will soon adjust to their new ring

that they'll keep on for life.

And they're one step closer to the Royal Highland Show.

In the far north of Scotland, north of Inverness,

large-scale farmer John Scott also breeds pedigree bulls.

Today, he's checking on his 14-month-old shorthorns

who've had their nose rings in for two months.

These bulls here were born April 2014.

They've developed the bond with us, really,

since...well, since they've been weaned off Mum.

They know us, we give them some feed every day,

and...you know, they're very quiet.

They can stand here, we can talk to them.

Shorthorns are a breed originating from the north east of England

in the late 18th century.

John's been breeding them for 20 years.

You get to know livestock, and they've all got different natures.

You know, some are a bit more... Suppose they're a bit like people.

You know, some are a bit more flighty and nervous

and others are much calmer and more laid back.

And the great thing about the shorthorn breed,

which is what we breed a lot of,

is that they're a very docile breed to work with.

John's also planning to take a bull to the Royal Highland Show,

but is still to decide which one.

East of Inverness,

Martin's taking a break from farm work.

He and fiancee, Mel, are getting married in a month's time.

So, I'm skiving this afternoon.

I'm heading to the kilt shop to see Margaret.

So, I bought my kilt two years ago,

and it just never fitted properly, and it was just...just not right.

So, I've left it in the hands of Margaret,

and she's resized it.

So, this is me going back for a final fitting

to see if it all fits properly.

Mel also has a meeting to get to.

Currently driving to go see my dad,

who works as a gillie on the River Spey,

which is where we're having our wedding ceremony.

And I love my daddy.

-Hi.

-How are you?

-I'm fine. How are you?

Mel's dad, Ian, used to be a dairy farmer.

He's been working as a gillie,

guiding visiting fishermen for the last seven years.

Let's do some fishing.

SHE GIGGLES

'It'll be five years past October that me and Mel have been together.'

Come on!

I'd say I'm marrying my best friend.

Come on!

-IAN WHISTLES

-Come on, little dog.

'Best day was when I proposed, actually.

'She never seen it coming, she had no idea.'

So, when the day did come and I did drop down on one knee and...

..propose, she hadn't a clue it was coming,

so it was quite a romantic surprise to her.

Do you like my jacket? I thought it was quite apt.

'He's a good lad.'

Asked for my permission to marry my daughter.

He was absolutely bricking it.

Yeah, I think he was pretty panicky.

-SHE LAUGHS

-He was pretty panicky.

He'll hate me saying that.

But he was.

He told me he felt nervous about asking Dad, as anyone would.

It's a bit of a daunting thing, but...

-Cos it was a windy day, wasn't it?

-It was a windy day.

-You couldn't hear him on the phone.

-I could hear him all right.

-I just needed time to think about it.

-Oh, right.

SHE CHUCKLES

She's got them in the corner here. Look at that.

She's so well organised.

"This is like Amsterdam," she's thinking.

THEY LAUGH

Don't be waving her in now.

So, there'll be 105 in the marquee just behind us.

We'll have the ceremony here.

One o'clock is the time that the ceremony starts,

so I am 100% sure I'm not going to be late.

-Look at the white legs.

-Scary stuff.

They don't see much sunlight.

'I'm not giving her away.'

I'm lending her.

I quite like me in a kilt.

It's just...just a Scottish kind of thing, and...

If you're wearing a kilt,

there's usually a night out to follow it, so it's quite nice.

It's quite freeing.

HE CHUCKLES

Yeah, I like it. Like it very much.

Yeah, chuffed.

While Mel and Martin are out,

Martin's brother, Darren, is at a neighbouring farm

stirring up some trouble for the unsuspecting couple.

Catch!

THEY LAUGH

They're planning a blackening,

a very Scottish ritual that happens in the weeks running up to a wedding.

Couples getting married, it's like a rite of passage.

It's just everyone's granting them...

Saying good luck...well, congratulations kind of stuff.

So, you get a blackening,

so it's good will for when they get married

and onwards and upwards for them, like.

The plan is to cover - or blacken - Martin and Mel

with a mixture of anything they can get their hands on.

As bad as it is, it's good for the couple.

They start with a brown liquid called potale,

a by-product of the whisky-making process.

And there's more to add.

There'll be flour, eggs,

feathers, tomato sauce.

I've a couple of tins of dog food at home.

It's an ancient tradition

that was originally designed to ward off evil spirits.

It's quite a messy job.

It'll be fun while...while it's happening.

Now they just need to choose their moment to strike.

In central Scotland, near Loch Lomond,

sheep farmer Anne Lennox is busy in the kitchen.

I've cooked chicken for lunch.

Anne prepares the meals on the farm every single day, all year round.

So she's looking forward to a day off at the Royal Highland Show.

And Kay and the kids are coming too.

So we're having a family day out, with the grandweans.

It'll be a riot.

Anne and husband Bobby aren't showing any sheep.

It's Bobby who's taking part in a competition.

This year I've got myself landed

with the Vice President of the Young Farmers,

I've now got to take part in the Young Farmer Bakeoff Competition

on the stage outside the Young Farmers Centre.

What I have to bake I have no idea,

and I won't know until I go on stage.

He's in it to win it. He'll be quite serious about this.

As long as there's not a tasting session!

I'll maybe have a dummy run at an omelette,

and I'll maybe have a dummy run at pancakes, if I can get time.

Not saying it'll be very good or come out what it's supposed

to look like, but I'll get it done.

For today at least, Anne has control of the kitchen.

On the other side of Scotland, Martin's preparing himself

for a very Scottish ritual in the run-up to his wedding

with Mel in four weeks' time called the blackening.

'We know it's going to be coming, we don't know when it's coming.

'But when it's going to come, I ken it's going to be bad

'because I've been at a couple of blackenings myself

'and I make sure we make a good job, who we get.'

So, there's feathers, there's eggs, there's flour,

there's tomato sauce, there's salad cream.

They can go really worse and there could be...

..bull manure.

There could be anything,

and long as I'm not tied naked to a lamppost in the middle

of the street, I'll be quite happy, like, but that's the worst bit.

You don't know what they're going to do to you and they're going to make

a right fool of you and it's going to come, it's an inevitability

but when it comes I'll be running.

They'd better realise they're going to have to run and catch me

because I'm nae going to hang about.

As long as I can outrun Mel, I'm going to be quite happy.

With Martin and Mel busy elsewhere on the farm,

Darren's decided today is the day to pounce.

We're out the way just in case

Martin wants to take a wee venture back across.

He just left in the past five minutes.

I'll make up a good heap of these and

get all this stuff mixed into pails.

And then we'll go and get them.

An army of friends and family are an essential part of the proceedings.

-Chase them through the parks, like!

-There they are.

-Come on!

-Now, we can do it the easy way or the hard way.

THEY YELP

Now there's no getting away.

Oh, that's...

One, two, three!

THEY LAUGH

SHE SCREAMS

THEY LAUGH

What's an egg?

Martin's dad Stevie doesn't escape either.

-'So we will now say we've been well and truly...

-Blackened.

'..blackened.'

Bah!

It's a success! A messy one.

Tastes horrible.

'But it's done now so now I don't have to worry about it.

-'And now we're going to have a drink and...

-Yeah, have a night out.'

In the west of Scotland, hill farmers Sybil and George Macpherson

are welcoming home their cows and new calves.

You're OK, girls.

Just steady, steady, steady, steady.

They're still feeling a bit spooky having come home,

from their winter shed quarters, to the great outdoors.

They're cross Limousin cattle, a continental breed,

not suited to living outdoors during a Scottish winter.

So every year, Sybil and George pay a lowland farm to house them

in sheds as they don't have this facility themselves.

Cattle's returning was delayed by about three weeks this year

because the weather was so cold and wet,

there was absolutely no grass here to bring them home to.

You're OK, girls.

It's important just to let them settle down, it's a huge transition,

coming out of a shed and a big journey on a lorry.

So you know, we have to keep a careful eye on them,

for that first week or two, really, when they first come home.

Many of the cows calved while they were away.

For them, probably this year, it was very much a good idea

that they, most of them calved away from home,

in a sheltered shed rather than being outside

during the month of May, which was so exceptionally cold and wet here.

There's a wee calf there with his mum.

With such young calves now a part of the herd,

Sybil and George are being cautious.

Will you let me come close to you?

Hello, Squeaky! No?

You've just got to be wary of them, especially when they're

like a wee baby born, can stir the maternal instinct of the other cows.

COW MOOS

It's great to see them home, really, especially when the weather's

reasonable like it is today and it's got a bit milder, and,

well, the calves are just the next generation

and they play and fight and

have fun just like any youngster, and it's great to watch them.

Hello. You come and speak?

It will take a few days for the mothers and calves

to get used to being outdoors.

They're just spooked with all the outside noises still

a wee bit, aren't they? Look, they're all kind of...

But it won't be long before they're let out to the hills.

In Drummuir, in the east of Scotland,

it's the morning of Mel and Martin's wedding.

But before Martin can get ready, there's work to be done.

Just fill them level, to the top.

'Me and my best man Jason and my brothers,

'we've had our breakfast and now,'

cos nobody's going to be here all day,

we're just going to feed up the bulls.

They get fed three times a day, so we're pretty much giving,

we're going to give them their three feeders on a winner

and that'll last them the whole day.

It never makes a difference what we're doing or going way,

these jobs still need done.

So it's just the same as normal, really, but just a bit faster.

Right, two pails, each pen.

For Mel, her bridesmaids and mum Jane,

celebrations are already underway.

-Chin.

-See it away.

-Chin.

-See it away now.

No, I'm not seeing it away.

Definitely not till later, anyway.

'Martin's over at the farm, just across the road.'

I don't know what he's doing.

Drinking, maybe. Having a cider out in the sun.

Why is he so last minute? All he needs is to get a shower.

-Shove the coat on and I'm done.

-I know.

'Yeah, I'd say she's changed my life.'

When you're younger, and you are actually going out with someone,

you don't actually know where you're going,

but now I know where I'm going, so it's quite nice.

I know what we're looking forward to and stuff like that,

know where we want to be.

I don't know.

Have you talked about the future, have you got plans?

-Babies, babies, more babies.

-Really?

-And when are they going to be starting?

-Don't know.

If I'm fit, they'll be here tomorrow morning.

Martin would like a football team.

And I was like, "Maybe no. Three maybe?" I don't know.

-That'd be a nice number.

-Yeah.

Mel wants to be on the case pretty quick, to be honest.

She's very broody. Very, very broody.

You can't force kids into doing what they want, so I would

encourage them to whatever they wanted to do, but it would be nice

if they wanted to do the farm and we could just keep it going.

It would be nice.

She'll be starting to stress a bit now.

It'll have been OK at the start but then she'll start panicking

cos she needs to get time, and time and time.

She promised me she won't be late,

she'll be there at one o'clock, so we'll see.

Is it 20 past 11?

You should really be out of here by then, then, Anne Marie.

You ready, Davy?

Aye.

I'm going to get changed to my dress,

and it's kick-off down at the river.

We all ready? Yeah, we're all good to go.

The guests have arrived at the marquee

on the bank of the River Spey.

Ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding to welcome our bride.

-I, Martin, take you, Melissa.

-I, Martin, take you, Melissa.

-To be my lawful wife.

-To be my lawful wife.

To have and to hold.

-From this day forward.

-From this day forward.

For better or for worse.

-For richer or for poorer.

-For richer or for poorer.

In sickness and in health.

For as long as we both shall live.

THEY LAUGH

You are now husband and wife. Martin, you may kiss the bride.

THEY APPLAUD AND CHEER

Friends, I give you Mr and Mrs Irvine.

THEY CHEER

-IAN:

-'Delighted. Absolutely delighted. Couldn't be better.'

There we go!

'I did have a tear in my eye, I have to say,'

when the ceremony went on but it was good, yeah.

'Good to see everybody, lots of friends there, family.'

An excellent evening, I hope.

Let the party begin properly.

-Bring it on!

-THEY LAUGH

THEY CHEER

At the start, when me and Mel started going out,

she would stay at mine at the weekends, and me and Dad,

we'd go out and feed the cows morning and afternoon,

and Mel wasn't far behind in her wellies and waterproofs,

to give us a hand to feed up.

And I always said, "They'd be no use to me if they can't feed the bulls."

Well, Mel, she can feed the bulls.

And this is one way I knew that she was the one.

And ever since then, all our happiness

and all our fun's been in about the farm, the cows, the bulls,

the shows, the sales, and of course, little Tilly dog.

And, I can honestly say it's great to be married to my best friend.

# But I can't help

# Falling in love with you. #

Let's hear a round of applause once again.

The night's well on, the evening guests are all appearing,

the party's started and a good day, really good day,

the weather's been great and we're married.

We've just shown our love to everyone, haven't we?

It's just the people, isn't it?

We've invited everybody we like so the whole party's

full of people that we know and love and enjoy company with

and it's just, you like everybody and you just... Oh, it's great.

Just chuffed.

CEILIDH MUSIC PLAYS

As summer rolls on,

the day-to-day work of caring for the animals continues.

And the highlight of the summer farming calendar,

the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh, is just days away.

On the east side of Scotland, Mr and Mrs Irvine are freshly home

from their honeymoon in Tenerife, and straight back to work.

Mel manages over 500 sheep for the estate they rent their farm from.

Boys! Keep going.

Today, the plan is to shear half the flock.

So today, we're clipping all the gimmers, just all the young sheep.

These sheep have never had lambs before so, there's 260 of them,

plus the ten tups.

It's like getting your hair cut, really.

They've got their massive fleece on that you'll see behind us,

and then they shrink...

..to little old sheepies that they are.

It's a lot of work, so the whole family is helping out.

Dad, he's packing, and Darren, he's keeping the sheep and the rest.

It's a fast day today.

At the moment, we've got the two clippers,

Graham and Alistair there,

and I'm just going to keep their feet clean,

so as they're clipping, I'm removing the wool.

You can't really leave our sheep with all this wool

cos it just grows and grows and grows.

If you don't shear them,

they can get dirty and then flies come and lay their eggs on it

and then, the eggs turn into maggots

and the maggots actually eat sheep alive.

So, and plus, I wouldn't like to be stuck with that on me

for years cos it gets hot, it needs clipped.

They've hired in expert shearers

who can remove an entire fleece in one go,

quickly and without harming the sheep.

But these guys just make it look so easy.

It's just like poetry in motion, they're just, feeling it

and their hands just go there.

They don't really have to think, they just, their hands just go.

They just make it look so easy.

And hopefully later, there'll be a third shearer coming in later

and things will really hot up and we'll have to go real fast.

They've set aside the afternoon to shear.

Everyone gets stuck in, but a summer job indoors has its downsides.

Martin's brother Darren is feeling the heat.

Really, really hot day. Not even a breeze in the air.

I mean, it's really humid in this shed right now.

Of course, pushing and shoving and ramping and rolling.

It's just an ongoing bloody heat wave.

It's a lot of effort but not a money-spinner.

Farmers used to make more from a sheep's fleece than from the meat.

Not any more.

Yeah, it'll be about 75 pence per fleece. So, it's not a lot.

It covers the cost for the clippers, really.

That's what you're more worried about.

The wool is sold to the Wool Marketing Board,

who then clean it, dye it,

and sell it on to manufacturers of carpets and clothes.

Somebody's making money somewhere.

The farmer sees nothing.

He actually loses money, just get rid of it.

It's four hours of hard hot work, but with a third shearer,

John, stepping in, the finishing line is in sight.

OK, we're down to the final three sheep.

So, just for a bit of banter with the boys,

we're going to have a race.

Three, two, one.

-SHEARS WHIZ

-And they're off.

Graham's done his belly. Graham's on the belly.

Graham's in the lead.

Ali's got down.

Graham's catching up again there.

Do we have the neck?

Al is done.

-Done.

-Done.

-Yeah!

First place.

In just one minute and 14 seconds, Alistair gets the prize!

Job well done.

Ali marks for getting first.

-What is it? A biscuit.

-A biscuit!

-Further north, near Inverness...

-Good morning.

..John has selected the one animal he wants to take

to the Royal Highland Show.

This bull we bought about three years ago now

and his name is Dakota of Upsall.

And he's just a real character.

As far as shorthorn bulls go,

I think he's one of the best in the country at the moment.

He's tall, he's got a good top line, he's well muscled here.

Good depth of thigh there.

And a good temperament, which is important in shorthorns.

They are a very mild-mannered cattle.

So, yeah, so going to the Highland Show

which is the big show in Scotland.

It's a cracking show, we're taking him down there

to compete against lots of other animals of this breed.

But five-year-old Dakota does have one impediment.

He had an unfortunate accident in which he tried to serve a cow

and broke his vital organ.

So he can't serve cows naturally any more,

which isn't much fun for him.

But we still manage to get semen collected from him,

so we can use that and we can still breed from him,

even though he actually doesn't do the job himself.

Dakota has a penile haematoma,

a common injury for breeding bulls,

where the penis is bent during mating,

leading to tearing and swelling.

Despite this, he still has impeccable genetics,

and John remains optimistic of his chances.

It'll take a pretty good bull to beat him in the big bull class

and after that, you just don't know.

Overall shorthorn champion, that would be a fairytale

if we could do that.

Especially because he's such a character.

He's a great advert for the breed and he's a pleasure to have around.

So, fingers crossed.

At the Irvines, it's the end of a long day,

but Mel and Martin still have work to do.

The shearing done, this evening they're taking Jagermeister,

Jock and two heifers out into the field for some much-needed practice.

So what we've got here is the show team for the Highland Show.

So any spare time we get, we'll bring out the four together.

Walk them in the field.

Get them used to the show stick and used to different surroundings.

So we've got Jock here, he's 11 months old,

he'll be in the baby bull class at the Highland Show.

Then we've got my Charolais, Jagermeister.

And he'll be 15, 16 months old.

What we've got here is just young stock, so we're never really

going to win a championship or anything, cos they're young.

If we're in the top half of our class, we'll be happy with that.

Unlike John, Martin doesn't have high expectations for his bulls.

BULL BELLOWS

Although Mel is more hopeful.

I think the Charolais will do well cos he is a good bull.

He's nice, he's just quite different.

Charolais are usually, can lack a nice head and bum,

but he's got, got it all, really.

He's more like a Limmy but, but white. And that's good.

Which might be a good thing or a bad thing for a Charolais.

Well, that's true, it just depends what the judge likes.

Some Charolais boys might just want a big rangy, powerful square bull.

But for us, we look for that kind of smart style, nice backside.

We are competitive, we do like to win

but any ticket at the Highland Show's a good ticket.

Fifth, sixth, still a good ticket.

The Royal Highland Show is just a day away.

On the Isle of Lewis

in the Outer Hebrides,

ex-barrister turned crofter Sandy Granville...

Away!

..breeds Highland cattle and blackface sheep.

HE WHISTLES

And today, he's also getting his pride and joy ready

for the big event.

It's a Triumph Trophy. Four-cylinder 1,200 CC.

It's a beautifully comfortable touring bike.

Runs like a bird.

I used to have motorbikes 25 years ago

and Ali rather banned me from riding the motorbike then.

But at some careless moment, she said I could have one when I was 60.

So I when I was 60, one of my first acts was to go out

and buy this thing.

Travelling to the Royal Highland Show

is the perfect opportunity for a road trip.

Not sure it's made for little crofters like us.

It's, it's something rather more for big farmers.

But I'll look at the huge tractors and huge continental cattle

and no doubt, we'll enjoy it.

Edinburgh is 300 miles away and will involve two ferry crossings

to the mainland, followed by a day's hard riding.

HE REVS ENGINE

Yeah, it'd be nice if the sun shone.

Just as long as it doesn't pour with rain on me, I'll be quite happy.

Soon, everyone is setting off for the Royal Highland Show.

-Bye-bye, darling.

-See you, tootsie. Be safe.

-Yeah, see you later.

-Yep.

Right, has everybody got everything? This is your last chance.

Good journey down, A9 was a bit slow.

But once we got past the A9 onto Perth, you're away, like.

And no queuing getting into here, so it's fine.

So what we'll do, we'll go find our pen, unload the beasts,

put them into the wash bay,

come back, set my pen and settle in for the night.

The Royal Highland Show started nearly 200 years ago

and is the most prestigious agricultural show

in the Scottish farming calendar,

attracting 180,000 visitors.

Over four days, 2,000 exhibitors

and farmers come to showcase their produce.

The sheep and cattle farmers enter their very best beasts

into a series of competitions,

each hopeful for the world-class kudos

of a Royal Highland Show rosette and ticket.

Martin and Mel are preparing young Jock for the Limousin competition.

Martin's asked Mel to show him

but she's not thrilled at handling the lively bull.

I haven't done much with this boy at home, so...

Should be fine. If not, I'll blame Martin.

11-month-old Jock has never been to a show before,

and is surrounded by unfamiliar sights and sounds.

Just stand there, mannie.

Waiting to enter the ring,

Jock is not in the mood to cooperate with Mel.

You don't like me, do you? Will you take him?

'He's just not happy and I'd rather Martin took him than me

'make a fool of the bull and myself in there.'

'If I made a bad job of it,'

you know, Martin might not have been

that happy so I'd rather just leave it to him.

-Is that right?

-Aye.

-Is that OK to say? Yeah.

Each bull is entered into a class according to his age.

Jock is in the youngest bull class,

up against other Limousins under a year old.

They're all inexperienced but Jock is playing up more than the others.

I just get frustrated when they behave like that.

This is his first time out in a show so, to be honest,

he's doing not too bad.

But could be better behaved. He's walking better now.

So the judge has judged them all individually,

and now, they'll walk round the ring,

and he'll assess their walking and their appearance and shape.

I don't think we'll be first.

Or second.

Or third.

Right now, Jock looks like he's coming last.

And Jock is just being a rascal.

Oh, no! We're not now. We're not last.

Oh, we're not last!

Not quite. He scrapes through, coming sixth out of seven,

which means he just manages to get a coveted Royal Highland Show rosette.

That was his first time out and he was a little bit of a monkey.

He just wouldn't set a pace

but I knew he's not enough turn of head, he's not full enough.

But he'll have another day.

And I managed to squeeze in a rosette so, excellent.

Jock has gone as far as he can.

But Martin still has Jagermeister to show.

Alongside the show rings,

the event attracts stall holders selling all kinds of products

and there are stands for country-related organisations.

-Hello there, how are you?

-Very well, Sybil.

-Haven't seen you for ages.

-No!

Sybil is the Chair of the Scottish branch

of the National Sheep Association, so she's manning their tent.

Husband George is having a day off.

It's just to catch up with people.

Especially the way the weather's been,

folk are needing a wee lift in their spirits.

Do you like good meat?

Ali has flown over from Lewis to join Sandy,

who's on a mission to spread the word about his Hebridean mutton.

Hello, do you like good meat?

Do you like good meat?

-That might be what you need.

-OK! Thank you.

-Show it to all your friends.

-OK, thank you very much.

People are always polite, aren't they?

But I suspect they throw them in the bin

when they walk round the next corner.

-You're not a vegetarian, are you?

-No.

Well, you never know.

You might just, you might get one customer, mightn't you?

If you eat this, you won't want to eat ordinary meat again.

-Shall we go in?

-Yeah.

Sandy then sets his sights higher.

See if we can persuade the manager of Asda to try our stuff.

I don't think we'll be able to supply enough

for all your customers.

But some, but some of your shops might like some.

See if we can get some samples in.

-Yeah.

-Would that do?

-Nice to have met you.

-OK, take care.

-Thanks.

Good morning, Donald. I'm fine, how are you?

-Very good, yeah.

-Yeah.

Mel works for a charity helping people in the country

who are struggling to make ends meet.

And is busy promoting it around the show.

We're just popping round with some more of our awareness cards.

I'll just give you the box.

-We'll hand them out over the weekend.

-Thanks, Ian, I'll be round.

OK, thank you.

While Martin and Darren go window shopping.

This is like a farmer's sweetie shop here, like. All this tack and toys.

That is a beast. That is a monster.

To the farmer's eye, that is cool, like. Serious piece of kit.

I'd like to have a shot at that, just to play with it for a day.

But with a price tag of £343,000, Martin can only wish.

Yeah, nice.

I'm the fourth generation to farm...

John won the title of Sheep Farmer of the Year last year.

So he's been invited to take part in a Q&A session.

I love doing what I do, I am...

Sometimes I can't sleep at nights because I'm excited about

what I'm doing the next day.

And at the Young Farmer's stand, a crowd is gathering.

Bobby's baking skills are about to be tested to the limit.

Still don't know what I'm going to be making

but I do know I'm going to compete against Alan Bowie,

who's the President of the National Farmers Union of Scotland.

THEY CHEER

Come on!

I'm sure seeing Bobby doing this today,

cooking whatever he is cooking will inspire him

to want to do more about in the kitchen.

-Ha, ha, ha(!)

-SHE LAUGHS

Bobby Lennox and Alan Bowie

will be making four evenly-sized pancakes.

OTHERS LAUGH

On the count to three, which Mary will shout, we will get going.

Oh-oh! Here we go with the eggs.

Nice stirring action, Dad. Very good.

-Oh, no!

-SHE LAUGHS

Dad has...

You need a wee bit more milk, Bobby!

While things are hotting up in Bobby's corner, Alan keeps his cool.

Oh, look at this, Alan.

This is as good as it gets.

Ooh!

-Not bad colour, Alan.

-He's going for the turn.

-Oh, there we go, but they're still quite...

-And Alan's done.

Ah! Well done, Alan.

-Give them a round of applause.

-THEY CHEER

They look like crumpets.

-They look like quite nice crumpets.

-Clapping for Grandpa.

The judge weighs up the two plates on offer.

And there's a clear winner.

-Alan has won this challenge.

-Let's hear it for Alan!

THEY CHEER

Commiserations for Bobby, he tried his best.

THEY CHEER

Could have been worse.

I at least knew what to do roughly with pancakes.

In the cattle shed,

Martin is preparing Jagermeister for his first-ever show.

So we're up at the Charolais corner of the shed

and Charolais judging's halfway through.

We're just away to go with the bulls in the next 15 minutes.

-Going to be last again?

-Ah, we don't know.

This is my cousin Raymond and he's got a bull at the same class,

so a little bit of family competition going on here.

I gave Martin a lot of good advice. That's all I'm saying.

As long as I beat my cousin Raymond, I'll be delighted.

Raymond's family has been breeding prize-winning Charolais

for nearly 50 years and is respected throughout the UK.

Martin only has one young novice bull

and has never won a red rosette in a Charolais competition.

Little bit nervous because this is the first time this bull's

been anywhere, so it's a whole new experience.

And it's his first time in, first time he's been in a lorry,

it's his first new smells, different experiences.

So, if I can make a fast run round the show ring,

I know he's settled in.

Good luck, Martin. Good luck in the ring.

As long as you're not last. You don't want to be last.

At least if you're second last, you've beat somebody.

-Donnae say that.

-Better not say that!

This first competition is between young Charolais bulls

between 13 and 15 months.

Darren keeps a close eye on the judging.

Each judge will have their own view.

But most are looking for a well-muscled bull

with good strong feet and legs.

There you go. Martin's in.

Martin's just been pulled up into first place.

He's standing first just now but we wait till we get the handshake.

The judge puts Jagermeister provisionally into first place.

But there's no guarantee he'll stay there.

Finally, the judge makes his decision.

Thank you!

It's a dream come true for Martin.

Jagermeister wins his class.

-Best young Charolais bull.

-Boost!

Cousin Raymond, on the other hand, comes last.

I wasn't expecting that, first in class.

Chuffed to bits, like, look at that. That's the right colour.

Any ticket at the Highland Show's good but a red one's very good.

I'm chuffed with that, like, wasn't expecting it.

Cos there was good bulls in that class at the top end there.

So, I'm delighted with that. Still just trying to take it in.

So when he picked me first, like, I was like, "You mean me?"

Martin lets Mel know the good news.

So now she knows.

So, just to see my cousin Raymond cos he was at the other end

of the scale, so he's going to wind up.

You know how I said earlier how we were friends in and out the ring?

-Well, I'm going to throw this pail of water....

-HE LAUGHS

-Well done, Martin.

-Thank you, Raymond.

-You did well.

-This'll be the first time, eh?

-First time. Best we've ever done here.

Best I've ever had here is a third, so.

Yeah, but I showed him everything, I taught him well.

-So I'm quite proud of him.

-HE LAUGHS

You can't win all the time.

Nothing wrong with that.

It's better when you don't expect it.

Nah, it's good.

While Martin basks in his success,

John's bull Dakota in the shorthorn pen

is being prepared for his competition by handler Jimmy.

John's never won a first prize at the Royal Highland Show

for any of his cattle before.

But thinks that today, they could be in with a chance.

It would just be tremendous if we could win a class,

maybe go a wee bit further,

it would mean a lot to the whole team at Fearn.

Mean an awful lot to Jimmy, I mean,

he's put an awful lot of work into this.

It's really about kudos and pride in what we do.

And winning down here is, it's big, it's as big as it gets.

-There we go.

-It's Dakota's big moment.

When he comes out, I fully expect him to start making

a bit of noise and just establish that, you know,

he's the boss, he's the man.

HE BELLOWS

Dakota's entered into the Senior Male Shorthorn competition.

They're the oldest bulls to compete,

aged between two and a half and five.

I am biased but I think he's got a good chance out there.

Fingers crossed, but you just don't know.

It's just, it's a bit of a worry.

Giving him a good long hard look.

So when you're judging out there, you're always looking in every class

for, for that, animal with that wee bit of X factor.

Getting hands on now, just to see what he's...

He's feeling to see if the condition the bull is -

whether it's fat or just feeling the muscles and just feeling the,

get a handle and helps them make up his mind on

whether he likes the bull or not and how much he likes it.

He's judging very much like I thought he would judge.

He's his own man and he'll pick what he likes and...

Which is how you should judge.

At the moment, we're pulled into first place so, yeah,

fingers crossed he won't change his mind.

Sometimes the judge can change his mind and switch things round

but that's where we want to be at the moment.

He's looking well out there and fingers crossed.

It's good news for John. APPLAUSE

Dakota comes first and wins the all-important rosette and ticket.

I'm just chuffed with that, really chuffed, chuffed for Jimmy,

winning the class, just grand.

He's put all the work in.

Now that he's Senior Male Shorthorn Champion,

he's automatically entered into the next stage in the competition.

The competition is also hotting up for Martin.

-Blitz him, Darren!

-Jagermeister is now through to the next round.

This time, he's up against the winners of the other age groups,

like Best Adult Male and Best Senior Male,

competing for the title of All-Round Male Champion.

Martin's mum, Denise, is watching from the wings.

Well, it's good that he's in there anyway.

I don't think he was expecting it

but that's always the best way to get it.

After some deliberation...

..the judge taps another bull on the rear end and awards it first prize.

APPLAUSE

-ANNOUNCER:

-So, the Male Champion is number 452.

Second place, called Reserve, is next to be awarded.

I think he's happy, kind of get his first in his class

so anything else is just a bonus.

The judge is giving him a good look so that's always a good thing.

The judge makes his decision.

And Jagermeister gets a tap on his rear end too.

He comes second. It's another shock win for Martin and his mum.

That's him, he's, Reserve Male Champion.

-ANNOUNCER:

-So, your Reserve Male Champion is number 445.

Reserve Male Champion. Keeps coming!

And it's not over for Jagermeister yet.

His win here qualifies him for yet another round.

In the shorthorn ring, it's round two for Dakota.

He's now competing for Overall Male Shorthorn,

against the winners of the other younger age groups.

Very good young bull here and there's also a good

two-year-old bull that we've competed against in the past before.

It's a close call to which one will be top.

The judge deliberates.

Keep your head up. That's better.

And gives the title...

..to one of the other bulls.

It's a good bull. It's a good bull.

Dakota comes third, so can go no further.

Pretty gutted, to be honest. We thought we'd a real chance.

But that's showing, so.

It's a big disappointment for John.

Och, well.

But Martin's on a roll.

Jagermeister is about to enter his final competition

against one other young Charolais.

-I'm going to take you down, boy!

-You can take me down, I wouldn't mind.

This time, Martin's competing against

another extended family member, Mel's cousin Matthew,

and his heifer, Elgin Jane, who also won reserve in her class.

We were going in for the Reserve Junior -

he's the female, I'm the Reserve male.

And I think Matthew's got the upper hand but I'm not worried.

Matthew's family are also regulars in the Charolais competitions,

having bred them for over 30 years.

Young upstart Jagermeister is unstoppable.

Thank you again, thank you.

Beating off the competition once again to win

Reserve Junior Champion!

-Well done. Congratulations.

-He's happy.

For Martin, a Limousin man, it's an incredible result.

Cattle's cattle, we're cattle men.

Good cattle, a good beast, any breed, you know.

Doesn't matter what the breed, a good beast is a good beast.

BULL BELLOWS

OK, this way.

Next time...

..we look back over a busy year for the farmers.

From the first sheep gather of the autumn...

No scrapping. Will, that's directed at you.

..through the dark days of winter...

They're long, cold, hungry months, and I don't like them.

..to the arrival of new life in spring...

The real sign of spring is lambs playing.

..we follow the farming calendar through to summer.

Such a nice feeling getting them outside.

Which is their best. This is our future.