Episode 2 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.

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

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 won't go forward, missus.

Do you need to do this?

..and their triumphs...

Look at my baby.

He's alive!

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

That's just depressing, that, really.

There's cause for celebration.

-What do you think?

-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.

I'm not letting go!

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

SHEEP BLEAT, DOG BARKS

It's autumn, in Scotland.

The days are getting shorter,

and on the farms, preparations are underway for the onset of winter.

Autumn can be sometimes the most beautiful time of year -

the colours can be stunning -

but because I don't like winter,

it spoils my enjoyment of autumn,

because I know what's coming round the corner.

The autumn's pretty frantic because of timescales to get to

and things that have to be done, so it is a busy time of year.

Sybil and George and Macpherson farm 2,000 sheep

in 15,000 acres of rugged mountain terrain in the west of Scotland.

They work two farms -

one they rent

and the other Sybil owns

and has been in her family for five generations.

I was extremely fortunate to be born into a farming family.

I'll never forget how lucky I am to have the opportunity to farm.

It's something that I...that I love.

I don't farm because I think I'm ever going to be rich,

especially not in this part of the world,

but I do farm because I passionately enjoy it

and I do think that we are producing something very meaningful,

not only as custodians of the land,

but also in the type of food which we produce.

-Shall we make some cheese ones, as well?

-Er, whatever.

The first important job of the autumn

is to bring down their sheep from the hills

where they've been living wild all summer.

Busy time, because we take all the sheep in off the hills,

make sure we're only keeping those

that we want to keep for the winter and for breeding on,

we only keep those that are

able to withstand the Argyllshire winter.

Right, have we got everything?

I don't want... I have gone before without the sugar.

That would be a disaster.

Today they're going to gather a flock of 500 sheep

scattered over six square miles.

In, in, in!

So they're taking their best dogs

and enlisting the help of friends Jake and Arthur.

There we are.

-Now, no scrapping.

-No.

-DOGS BARK

Will, that's directed at you.

DOG BARKS

Arthur's a real mountain man, he's very fit and agile.

Jake, who's been gathering much longer than any of the rest of us

in that he's been a shepherd around this area for a long time.

The plan is to head to the top of the hill and spread out.

-Come on, come on!

-HE WHISTLES

Come on up. Perfect day for gathering sheep.

Sybil, Jake, Arthur and their dogs

will approach from one end on foot,

while George will advance from the other side on his quad bike.

If all goes well, they'll meet in the middle

and drive the whole flock towards the loch

and along the glen to the farm.

It really is

just us in a line

making the sheep aware that

we're coming behind them, so they'll start to move the right way.

The important thing isn't to have dogs

flying about all over the place, it's about

us, the shepherds, being in the right place behind the sheep,

making a bit of noise. Hey, hey, hey, hey!

It's a job that takes some skill.

A lot of being able to gather hills is to do with having sheep sense

and understanding what they're likely to do,

what their capabilities are, how fast they can run,

and using your head, and being tactical,

as well as actually having tremendous dogs.

You can get away with quite a lot if you can read the situation.

Trying to control sheep

used to living wild across such difficult country has its risks.

The terrain's quite steep and there's a lot of peat bogs,

underground water channels that you could lose yourself in.

I do get a bit tense at gatherings in case anything goes wrong because,

well, it's dangerous ground, it's pretty important to try

and get it right, and I do worry.

-Hello, George.

-RADIO BEEPS

-Hello, George?

-RADIO BEEPS

Remember to keep your finger on the button when you're speaking to me, darling.

'Get your finger out, DARLING.'

OK, we're slow, sorry, we're coming now, quickly.

Now the entire party must synchronise their efforts,

or the sheep could escape

and if any of the weaker ones are left behind,

they won't survive the harsh winter months.

We're working as a team here, we're all in a line,

there's Sybil above me and then Jake.

George is further forward than us this morning,

so we have to go quickly to catch up, otherwise the line,

the sort of sweep line, is broken.

Come on, come on. Whoa, whoa!

Together for 17 years and married for 12,

Sybil and George are used to working as a team.

We get on extremely well together.

I know how incredibly lucky I am

that we can work all day and very seldom a cross word.

I've seen you with sheep and I think I've got more patience than you a lot of the time.

-Ooh!

-HE LAUGHS

-Getting a domestic here.

-LAUGHTER

Aye, right on the top of the hill.

After three hours' hard graft, the worst is behind them.

Two hours should take us home, so, we should be fine, eh?

THEY WHISTLE

Now it should be fast work driving the sheep down

to the holding pens on the farm.

No, it's a pleasure, this is the best part of our job.

It's a fantastic office.

SHEEP BLEAT

Do you want me to open the gate?

Please!

-Eh?

-Please!

Finally, the sheep are in.

Tomorrow they'll need sorting.

'At this time of year it's important to look through

'all the sheep. If there's anything a bit dodgy...'

Come on, ladies.

'..you can either treat it and it hopefully recovers,

'or else decide that that sheep's not really fit

'for living out here any more, in which case she has to go market.'

For now, it's time for a break.

Now we're at the post-gather party.

It's tradition in the west coast when you come in off the hill,

you get a dram and a beer, and, er, we're very much into tradition.

HE LAUGHS AND WHEEZES

I think it went very well.

Great.

If Sybil's happy, I think we should be rejoicing.

-It's not often, is it?

-No.

-I'm always moaning and groaning.

There's usually something, aye.

Mm-hm. But, no, I've got nothing today.

We're happy, we're delighted.

I'll just dunk my biscuit.

COWS LOW

In the north-east of Scotland, Martin Irvine and his family

rent a 240-acre farm where they rear pedigree Limousin bulls.

BULL GROANS

He has a herd of 168 cattle.

We've got Iceman and Imperial.

These will be my two superstars. Come on.

They're just big pets, really.

Originally imported from France in the 1970s,

Limousins are the most popular beef breed in the UK,

and Martin makes most of his money selling his bulls for breeding.

Everybody thinks, "Oh, I'd be worried about a bull,

"be scared of a bull," but, to be honest, I'd be more worried

about the heifers and the females, to be honest.

Martin only had eyes for his cattle,

until Mel appeared on the scene.

I first met Mel, would've been the Royal Highland Show,

about two years before we started going out.

This little blonde comes across and

she's standing behind my pen of bulls

and first thing she says to me, she likes Aberdeen Angus.

And me being a Limousin man, that was just a no-go.

You know, he's very confident in himself.

And I just thought that he was a bit of a...

big-headed sort of person.

We bumped into each other a couple of times at Young Farmers,

dances, discos, and started speaking.

He came up to me after a few drinks, and said,

"Since when did you get so hot?" And I thought, excuse me?

MEL LAUGHS

It was, I think a couple of days after that she came round to mine,

showed her the bulls and round the farm and stuff like that, and...

just kind of found our way from there, really.

Together for five years, and now engaged,

Mel, a farmer's daughter, has also brought sheep into Martin's life.

She bought their first flock last year.

I doubled my money on them, which was really great,

and Martin being a sheep hater and he hated sheep

and told me that he just can't stand sheep,

went on to thinking, "Oh, this is actually quite a good idea."

Martin's embraced Mel's new enterprise

and they recently invested in eight promising young males,

or tups, for breeding.

Hell of a size of nuts on him.

Today Mel will find out if she chose well.

She's going to introduce the tups to the ewes.

This is the exciting part for me. I love this part of the year, so,

it's always something that I've liked.

At the other farm that I grew up on, I was putting the tups out with Dad

and you just sort of stand and make sure that they're all going

to do their job, or fingers crossed, so, I just love it.

Whatever happens the next five weeks,

depends how good a spring we'll have at lambing, so,

-this is the important bit.

-Lots of babies, hopefully.

Watch this wet bit.

First, she needs to round up the tups - 14 in all.

Come on. Where are you?

It's in here. Just a nice little paddock away from everything else.

This is the bachelor pad where all the boys are.

Good boy.

Come on, then!

Her plan is to split them into small groups across different fields

so all the ewes get an equal slice of the action.

Watch!

For Mel's tups to earn their keep across

the five-week mating season, they'll each be expected

to get 50 females pregnant.

Wouldn't be a bad life being a tup. Kind of get to chill out all year

and there's five weeks of the year it's just bliss.

So, they're away to get...

sex for the next five weeks.

-They're away to MATE.

-They're away to mate for the next five weeks.

Some of the ewes will actually come to the tups.

They'll be in season there.

-They're ready.

-They're ready, they know what's going on.

The boys have been at the job before,

they'll know what's going on. They'll be...

To prepare the tups for their grand entrance,

Mel uses a thick oily paint called raddle,

so she can keep track of the ewes that have been mated.

So, when it comes to lambing, you're looking for the one

with the red bums cos when the tup jumps to the ewe...

-It leaves a mark.

-It'll be on her bum and her back.

That's where the pain or raddle will rub off.

Slap it on.

So, that's him got his war paint on.

Girls!

Come on!

-Right, boys.

-Come on, girls!

He knows what he's doing.

It's showtime for the tups.

It's quite good watching all the tups run away

chasing all the women.

They let you know they're in the mood, they're excited.

So, this is tupping time.

Now, that ewe that's standing,

I would say that she's probably ready to be served.

That's it. That was it.

I feel pretty good when I see this, like.

Some folk might think it's a bit creepy, standing them there

and doing their job, but this is what we've bought them for.

This is what they're going to do.

That's the only thing that they need to do,

is stay alive and make babies.

Look down there, we've got a girl with a red bum here,

another one with a red bum, another one with a red bum.

So far so good.

But in the next field, with virgin ewes, or gimmers,

it's not so straightforward.

These girls haven't seen tups before.

So, they might not know what's going on.

They're all running away at the moment,

but we'll just walk these boys up.

So, that's him on and that's it done.

So, that was literally two seconds

and that gimmer has now got a red mark on her bum.

He's going to have a rest for about five minutes

and then probably he'll have another go.

It'll just literally be two pumps and a squirt, really.

The new tups seem to be up to the job, and, with any luck,

come springtime, Mel will increase the size of the flock

and their income.

And there goes another one.

Done.

Where there's a willy, there's a way!

In the north of Scotland, near Inverness, John Scott runs

a successful farming business rearing sheep, beef cattle

and producing crops.

The farm he owns stretches across a thousand acres

and has been in the family for over 100 years.

I'm the fourth generation to farm here.

It's important to me to leave the farm in as good,

if not better heart, than we were handed.

Dad handed it over in a fairly good condition to us

and we're building on that and expanding and improving

things for the next generation.

Since taking over the farm, with the help of wife Fiona,

he's taken on more land and tripled the size of their sheep flock

to over 4,000, improving the legacy for their four children.

Having four kids focuses the mind a little bit.

Not only have I got to provide for the ones that want to farm,

we need to provide for the ones that don't want to farm.

I would have said James is pretty keen on farming -

he's certainly showing all the signs of wanting to

follow in our footsteps - and that'd be fantastic.

Archie's a strong possibility

and I would have said Izzy is a strong possibility, too.

Whereas, Lexie, no, she's not going to be a farmer, you can tell now.

I see her, I don't know, be a teacher, I think.

So, yeah, we've got to just expand, I think, and see where it goes.

Today, John's taking his eldest, 13-year-old James,

to an important sheep sale.

Shouldn't really be skiving off school, but tells us

all his mates are off today.

It's work experience, so that's the reason.

We do feel that it's important for part of his education that he

gets the experience of these sales.

It's been fairly obvious from a young age that he's very keen

on farming, and especially sheep, so the more we can expose him to

these type of events and get him involved in them, the better.

He's 13.

When I was 17, I started buying the livestock for the farm,

so that's only four years away.

So he has to, in the next three or four years,

pick out the relevant skills required to start buying livestock.

I would love to follow my dad's footsteps cos he's just...

He's done so much for the farming industry

and I'd like to be a bit like him and do more for it.

And he has promised that he will make up the time and work hard

at school the next few days to catch up on anything.

-All the homework will be done on time.

-Yeah.

So, yeah.

John's here to buy gimmers and he's asked James to help him choose.

Can you smell it?

Yeah.

I love the smell of the auction marts.

It's coming up to mating season and John needs new blood

to replace the older females who can no longer breed.

-AUCTIONEER:

-Three- and four-year-olds.

The three- and four-year-olds.

With most of his income made selling lamb meat to supermarkets,

to get a healthy crop next spring,

he needs to keep investing in good stock.

118, at 118.

James has been coming to auctions since he was a baby

and should know what to look for.

Bad on the feet.

-AUCTIONEER:

-...and they've been on the hill all summer.

They're proper hill gimmers.

Well, I'm sure James is learning much as yet, picking up bits

and pieces all the time. You learn anything yet?

Gimmers coming in again.

That's the type of gimmers that I would like to have.

180, 150.

It's a seller's market.

Everyone's after new stock and the prices are high.

140.

Dugan Hill, number one.

No way at that money.

Just out of my budget, I'm afraid.

They're working to a budget of £126 per gimmer,

and James spots a batch that looks promising.

I think they'll grow well.

They've got a bit more growing to do, but I think they'll do well.

98, 98, 100.

102, 103.

John approves and joins in on the bidding.

15, 18,

20...

..five, five, eight.

Bid 138, bid 138, bid 138.

138, John Scott Fearn.

Just bought 61 gimmers there at 138 which

is slightly more than I'd ideally like to pay,

but it's the trade of the day, so, yeah, I need the sheep.

I think they had a bit of potential about them.

I had my advisor with me.

Just honest sheep.

James has chosen well.

Would you like a bit of tablet?

Yes, please.

30 miles off the west coast of Scotland, in the Outer Hebrides,

is the remote island of Lewis.

Sandy Granville moved here 12 years ago,

leaving behind his career as a criminal barrister in London

to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather

who used to be a crofter on the island.

Sit.

With his wife Ali, they own two crofts -

small agricultural plots of land - where they rear

a dozen Highland cattle and 100 blackface sheep.

They sell their beef and mutton online

to their customers across the UK.

Our meat is very special indeed.

Because of the diet of our animals, and the time they have,

and they've lived pretty much wild all their life.

We always give a warning.

"Danger,

"eating this meat could spoil your palate for the ordinary stuff."

Their speciality is wedder mutton -

the meat of a two-year-old castrated male sheep - a Lewis delicacy.

The difference between lamb and mutton

is the difference between veal and really good beef.

If you want a proper grown-up taste, you've got to have a proper

grown-up animal to get your meat from.

Mutton is becoming particularly fashionable

and Sandy likes to provide a bespoke service to his customers,

hand-delivering the meat himself twice a year.

Today he's setting off on a four-day road trip.

We're going into town, into Stornoway,

then going on the ferry and have a nice, quiet two or three

hours there before going down near Inverness and onto Glasgow.

Tomorrow we'll go on down to London making deliveries all the way.

It's a 1,600-mile round trip during which

Sandy will deliver 300 kilos of beef and 150 of mutton

to eight loyal customers.

To ensure it arrives in perfect condition,

he's converted the back of his jeep into a makeshift fridge.

This is the car chiller...

..and we've got gel ice packs to go all round everything.

Unless we get a heatwave, that's going to stay beautifully chilled

until it's delivered.

This delivery will bring in £4,000 -

a big chunk of their yearly income.

Sit down, Doyle!

Get out of it, you silly sod.

Sandy also wants to spread the word about the quality

of Lewis' meat.

Selling our meat to the outside world could be the salvation

of old-fashioned crofting on the island, because if we don't manage

to revitalise that, there will be no sheep on the hills in a few years.

Sandy's first hurdle in getting this prized meat to

the outside world is getting it off the island on the ferry.

It's always a great relief, because if the weather turns here,

and the ferries don't run, you're left with a ton or two of meat,

wondering whether you're ever going to get it across and deliver it.

Sometimes we have gales here that last for days.

Today, the weather's on his side.

I've downloaded quite a few episodes of In Our Time

that I'm going to listen to in the course of this journey.

It's great leaving Lewis occasionally and seeing

some trees, and I'll be back before the whole experience palls on me.

Coming into Ullapool. This is the end of Scotland.

Good fish and chips here. Quite busy with fishing boats.

Nice sailing country.

Keen to get ahead, his meat delivered in perfect nick,

Sandy was first on the ferry, but it means he'll be last off.

So we'll just wait patiently while

everybody else gets off and goes on their way.

We won't be tempted to start overtaking people because

we know there's another 100 cars in front of them.

Although once the traffic's clear he has been known to put his foot down.

Well, I have been stopped a couple of times.

I paid the penalty, but I did sell some mutton to one of the

policemen who pinched me.

Sandy's mission to deliver the mainland from inferior meat

is back on track, but to stop it from spoiling,

he must now stay on schedule.

North of Aberdeen,

pedigree bull breeder Martin is on his way to meet fiancee Mel.

With just seven months until their big day,

the couple are also thinking about starting a family.

Mel, she just sees a baby and she lays an egg!

She's like that, she's very broody.

She's just biting at the bit, she's ready to start a family,

and so am I, I suppose.

I don't want to be an old dad. I'll be 30 at the end of this year.

Just hoping for boys, to be honest.

We need more boys to work on the farm.

Mel and Martin are not regular church-goers,

so have decided on a humanist minister to perform their ceremony.

Hi, Angie.

Today they must agree their wedding vows.

Have you had a wee look at vows? Vow ideas?

Marked down a few things that I would like,

I haven't even shown him!

-I've never seen this before.

-This is very usual.

It has to be said that the bride does usually take the lead with...

You'd better read it cos you haven't read it.

So, when you arrive, what's quite nice is if you sort of say

thanks to your dad, probably give him a cuddle or a kiss.

You might shake his hand

and then actually about how you greet one another.

It's just good to have thought about it

and agree that maybe you kiss her on the cheek,

maybe kiss her hand or maybe you just hug or just say hello.

-Squeeze her bum.

-I knew you were going to say that.

-I knew he was going to say that!

-It's up to you guys.

A kiss on the cheek or something like that.

Yeah, we'll think of something.

Would you like me to introduce you at the end of the ceremony as Mr and Mrs?

Yes.

-Mr and Mrs Irvine!

-Oh!

-Mrs Irvine!

Martin and Mel will tie the knot over their own personal vows.

Each time I drape it I might say something like,

may your marriage be blessed with love.

By chance,

the minister's using ribbons the couple are very familiar with.

What other qualities?

May your life be blessed with expensive bulls that will wear this ribbon.

-You don't want to be blessed with expensive bulls.

-Yeah, cos that means money.

-What Martin does as a living is breed bulls.

-Ah, OK, OK.

And they wear this ribbon around their neck when we sell them.

-This is exactly the same ribbon.

-Yeah, exactly the same.

-Really.

-Yeah, exactly the same.

So, let's say I've finished that

and then I would create the knot.

-That was good.

-Went really well.

Feel relaxed and ready for it now.

-Yeah, it's starting to get real, isn't it?

-Yeah. Very much.

Too real.

In Argyll, Sybil and George also have an important day ahead.

Come round here, Tib. Tib! That'll do.

Having gathered in their flock,

they're now rounding up the older females who would struggle to

rear lambs through the harsh winters on the mountains.

It's a very difficult day. Our old friends, the sheep

that we've had, have come to the end of their working life here.

So, we're selling them on and hopefully somebody from a low ground

farm will like them and buy them and they'll have another couple

of years of breeding elsewhere.

But, for us, they've reached the age where they have to leave the hills.

As I say, it's a day tinged with sadness -

a lot of old friends here

and, as I say, what sad day.

That'll do, Tib. That'll do, Tib. That'll do, Tib. That'll do.

The ewes are six years old

and should continue to breed for another two years on a lowland farm

where the terrain is less harsh and the winters milder.

OK!

But if Sybil can't find a buyer, she'll have no option

but to send them to slaughter.

We can only keep them to a certain age,

and it's important that we sell them when it comes their time.

But it's sad because you know that

you're never going to let them run wild on the hills again.

-AUCTIONEER:

-27 bid, 27 bid. 27, at 27.

Sybil's 60 ewes will be sold at annual auction

for blackface sheep just down the road in Dalmally.

28, 29...

The sale attracts buyers from all over Scotland

and is her best chance of finding them a new home.

Sybil's ewes are next in the ring.

Still the same old churning

and butterflies in the stomach,

every single time.

It's sheep that you've looked after for five years

and they've done their best

and because they've got a bit old you take them along and sell them.

Obviously there are days when your heart's completely broken.

George is a lot more able to cope with these downers than I am,

but he's quite tolerant with me when I sit in tears.

I don't get so emotionally tied as Sybil to them,

and, to me, they're a working sheep.

At most auctions, prices are in guineas -

one guinea is one pound and five pence -

and Sybil's set a price of 50 guineas per ewe,

in the hope the low price will encourage buyers.

Final bid. 50, final bid, at 50.

52, 53,

54, 55,

56, 57, 58, 58,

58, 59, 60,

1, 2, 3, 4,

64.

64.

Sybil's sheep have sold.

They'll see out their days on a lowland farm just as she'd hoped

and, as an added bonus, they've gone for 64 guineas each.

What are you having, are you having a lager?

They've made nearly £3,000 -

one of their biggest pay cheques of the year.

I'm very pleased that two boys that have bought them

before in the past have decided to buy them again,

so that gives us confidence that our sheep are going on

and doing a job for someone else after we've finished with them.

-And quite pleased with the trade, as well.

-Oh, for sure, yeah.

Huge plus that we must be doing something right

if the ewes have gone on to do right for other people.

It's good.

On bull breeder Martin's farm on the other side of Scotland,

an important sale is also looming.

He's putting four of his beloved pedigree Limousins

into the most prestigious auction of the season in Stirling.

This is the boys here. Two pens, so we've got Imperial, Iceman.

This is Ironhide, the big lad, and Ice, the young boy.

These two boys here are Imperial and Iceman.

Since they were calves we just kinda fell in love with them, especially Iceman.

When he was a calf, he was just a picture -

just like a mushroom of muscle.

Couldn't wait to get a halter on him,

get the clippers onto him, dress him up and just start handling him.

These bulls are the cream of the crop

and they get special attention from Martin.

You get a bond with them.

They know me, I know them,

and hopefully we'll sell the whole lot,

but, aye, I'll miss these two cos you've just got a bond with them.

They are kind of like the apple of your eye, pretty much.

Keeping his favourites isn't an option.

As a small family farm, the bull auctions bring in most

of their income, but the prices are set by the buyers on the day.

This is like payday, it means a lot.

Four bulls could be 20,000, it could be 30,000,

it could be 10,000, you don't know.

With so much riding on the sale,

Martin drafts in Mel to help give the bulls a special makeover.

This is the superstars, they get all the goodies,

all the action, all the pampering, the washing.

He gets loved pretty much.

Hopefully we'll sell him and he'll spend a life being a dad.

They like a bit of TLC. They love it.

There's a spot about... usually about here,

they lick and they just love it.

The tail usually goes, yep.

And nothing's too good for Martin's bulls.

I've just turned on the soap to come through the power washer,

and Martin is power-washing onto the bulls so it gets blown right

to their skin and then we comb it through and then it's washed off.

So we don't use soap - it's coconut shampoo.

This isn't the only hairdressing trick he employs.

So we're going to take some hair off the front of his back leg.

We're going to take some hair off the back of his front leg

and that'll make this space in the middle wider,

so that's making him look longer.

I think it's quite therapeutic, spending two hours clipping a bull,

it's quite chilled and nice as long as he stands at peace.

The bulls are entered into competitions at the Stirling auctions.

If they do well, this could increase their sale price.

You want them looking the part and they are looking the part.

Four good bulls, just hopefully we get justice for what they are

and trade is good.

Sandy has made it to the south of England

with his precious cargo of meat without being stopped for speeding.

I don't suppose it does any harm at all to blast down the road at 70.

Having made deliveries in Scotland and Lincolnshire,

he's now half way through his run and has three more stops to make.

I don't charge for delivery.

But, of course, I charge people enough to leave

quite a good profit, so a good profit is essential.

I have to resuscitate extensive crofting by making

our products a worthwhile thing for another generation.

A certain number of my friends bought the meat

and friends of friends and the story has been spreading like a ripple.

-Hi, Rupert.

-Hello.

Rupert and Anna in Reading have been loyal customers for many years.

Number two.

When I make my deliveries, I'm as welcome as the drug dealer

to the addict.

They're all dying to get their Lewis meat.

Really lean. That's a really nice cut of meat.

Whoops, really bloody, as well.

Sandy's customers buy his meat by the animal.

£175 for a wedder...

and £400 for quarter of a cow.

Sandy comes down twice a year, we have the mutton delivery

and then we have the beef delivery and we just use it over

the year so we have a...

-Do we have an animal and a half mutton animal?

-Two, I think.

And then the beef animal,

then that will keep us going for the year, so that's all our meat.

-Saves you from eating second-rate meat.

-Yes, absolutely.

And the meat, the mutton meat is

so different to lamb, it's got such a nice...

Saying it's gamey - it's kind of just too easy to say that, but...

-I wouldn't call it gamey, just a full flavour.

-Dark. Yeah.

Full, mature flavour, not the meat of little babies.

Mmm.

Next stop, London.

We're now haring down the M4.

Delivery in Ealing before cutting through the centre of London

to Chislehurst, where we have another delivery.

So far, his makeshift cooler has been doing its job,

but he's got two more deliveries to make

and the traffic is building.

We're just bumping into the traffic jams -

that's a pity.

It's not great news for his precious cargo.

400 miles north,

Martin's cruising down an empty motorway on his way to the

Stirling auctions with his own precious cargo -

the four Limousin bulls.

A lot of people will get hauliers or contractors to

drive their livestock down, but when you're driving yourself,

you can take yourself at your own speed

and you can look after your important cargo in the back.

He's hoping to sell the bulls for a good price,

but before he can enter the sale,

they must pass an inspection of vets and judges -

the dreaded panel.

I feel a bit nervous.

You're worrying because it means so much.

If you fail the panel, the bull that you were hoping to get 5,000 or 6,000 for,

you're not going to be selling him

and that's money you're losing, and money's important right now.

So, yeah, kinda sick.

Get this kinda sick feeling in your tummy, and then you'll have

that feeling right to the point of you passing the panel.

The Stirling auctions are the most prestigious cattle sales in the UK.

They take place three times a year across three days

and attract buyers from across the country.

Over 800 pedigree cattle will be put on show

and then up for sale,

providing they have the panel's seal of approval

to prove they're physically fit for the job.

The vet looks at his teeth and into his eyes, see everything's

OK there and he'll measure his testicles to see that they're

big enough and then we walk round in a wee circle and there's a couple

of guys that make sure that they're walking and their feet are OK.

Animals that fail are given a red dot.

I've seen two red dots so far. It's just... You don't wish it on anybody.

I know what it's like to get a red dot, it's terrible.

You thought that much of a bull and he's been rejected.

Where you were going to get 5,000, 6,000, now you can't show him,

you can't sell him, so it's money coming in.

It's a big worry, it's a terrible thing, getting a red dot.

Be fine, won't it? Yeah. Good boy, yeah.

First to face the judges is Ice.

Thank you.

Next, Martin's brother Darren leads in Ironhide.

I do get nervous, I get nervous for Martin.

You know, it's part of the farm, it's just so much of a relief when we get out there

and there's no red dot -

it's the vet's decision, and his decision's final so...

you've just got to take it on the chin and get on with it.

-Both bulls pass.

-They both got a clear.

So they're through, no dots, so that's good.

So the other two boys to go now, so I'll just take them out

and do the same again and hope for no coloured dots this time.

Now it's the turn of Imperial and Martin's star bull, Iceman.

Fingers crossed everything will be OK.

I'm confident, but you never know.

You know there could be something I've not seen, or missed.

My cousin got one of their bulls thrown out,

cos it had a different-size testicle.

They had them all vetted at home

and they passed at home, but they didn't here,

so, you just never know.

Ironhide and Iceman make it through.

All four of Martin's bulls will enter the sale tomorrow.

Here comes a happy Martin.

Yeah. That's not bad, happy with that.

Takes the pressure off, now I've got a smile on my face now.

And the colour back in your face.

Yeah, chuffed with that.

In London, Sandy has made it through

the traffic and is on the final stretch of his meat-delivery run.

Nice warm night, really - probably a bit too warm for my meat.

His route is taking him

through his old stomping ground when he was a criminal barrister.

Saturday night, they're all off out on their revels.

There's just so much going on, isn't there?

It's not something you're going to

replicate at the Arts Centre in Stornoway.

I always enjoy these trips.

Especially when I'm going through London and I see the old places,

and even the scenes of the crimes and cases I've worked on.

After 25 years, there's plenty of these

scattered around the place.

Sandy's last customer has arranged for him

to leave the mutton delivery in his shed.

Despite the delays, his makeshift cooler has held out well.

The only thing I really do miss is lovely,

nut-brown draught bitter beer.

When I was living in England, I never realised how spoilt I was

having pub-fulls of the stuff.

Tomorrow, he'll be heading

back to Lewis, and his life rearing livestock on his croft.

It's sometimes said that this crofting way of life is

very hard work, and it does have its difficulties,

but I think that I have a role in what is a dying way of life

and many people work harder for less pleasure.

It's the next day at the cattle auction in Stirling.

Each of Martin's four bulls has been approved by the panel to

enter into the sale later this evening.

But first, there's a competition to judge the animals in each class.

Certificates are awarded to the best in show

and a rosette should lead to a better sale price.

We do their tails backcombed like that - it fills up a space

in between their legs,

so they're bigger and they're poofier.

It's like girls backcombing their hair to make their hair look big,

you'll see this one coming up real nice.

Suitably primped and primed, Ironhide,

the oldest of Martin's bulls, is going first.

He couldn't look any better if he tried.

What we really want is a ticket - a first, second or a third -

that's what you want to be, really.

The competition's strong so,

if you get a ticket at the top end, it'll help sell him.

Ironhide is up against other Limousin bulls of a similar age.

They'll be looking for correctness -

so, good on their legs, nice big bum, a nice top line, a good head.

But every judge is different - some judges might like them big

and tall, with not so much bum, some will go for

the smaller, with the bigger bum, so it just depends on your judge.

It's a great result. Ironhide wins first prize.

You couldnae get a better start.

That's an excellent selling point for us.

There's three younger bulls still to go.

All 16 months old, they're going on show together.

This is the last class, so hopefully we'll go in

and carry on our good luck and get some tickets.

This will be a hard class.

It's a younger class and if they're here,

they're here for a reason because they're good.

Mel's showing the mushroom of muscle, Iceman.

Darren's with Imperial and Martin's in charge of Ice.

It's good news.

Iceman comes first, Ice, second

and Imperial is in fifth place.

Chuffed with that. Darren let us down a bit, but we'll let him off.

Never expected to have as good a day as we did, so we're delighted

and this will look good from a selling point of view with that card

above your pen and the bulls looking like that, so hopefully the buyers

will start wandering in and the sale will be good and...hopefully.

The sale starts in two hours.

In London, sheep farmer John Scott and wife Fiona are also hoping

to see off the competition at a national farming awards ceremony.

We're completely out of our comfort zone,

like a fish out of water.

Haven't a clue where we're going,

desperately needing to see my collie dog and some grass.

But thoroughly looking forward to the evening.

John's put himself forward for the UK's

Sheep Farmer of the Year award.

Having made it to the shortlist of three,

tonight they'll be announcing the winner.

It's quite a prestigious thing to make the last three.

We're delighted to be there.

We're here to win, we're not here to make up the numbers,

we'd love to win and if we don't we'll obviously be disappointed,

but it's not be all and end all.

I think it would mean a huge amount to win.

Yeah, just to be... Just to be recognised from outwith

your local community and actually to bring it back

for the local community, as well, would be really good.

It's the Oscars of the farming world and winning will bring

industry recognition and put his farm on the map.

Whereabouts in Scotland are you?

We're 40 miles north of Inverness.

We get the prize for furthest travel.

The publicity could help increase the price tag

of the breeding stock he sells, and boost his profits.

-ANNOUNCER:

-Take your seats, ladies and gentlemen -

this evening's presentation is about to begin.

For John, whose mission is to expand the business

so he can pass it on to his children,

this title will be a step in the right direction.

What's the bets on who's going to be presenting?

Mystery woman, they're saying.

It's Sue Perkins!

All of tonight's winners

will be featured naked in this year's Farmers' Weekly calendar.

You were told, right?

The sheep farming award is one of the last to be announced.

John has a long wait ahead.

In Stirling, the evening bull auction is in full swing.

3,200 guineas, at 3,200.

The day is just so full-on and you're running about,

here there and everywhere

and it's all a build up and then you get to this point

and you're a bit nervous, you don't know if they're going to sell.

Martin and Mel have done all they can.

Now it's down to demand and the appetite of the buyers.

This year, the market price for bulls has been dropping.

Ironhide, the oldest of Martin's four bulls, is going first.

We should be getting 5,000, 6,000 for Ironhide.

The worst-case scenario we get 4,000.

Worst-case scenario we don't sell him.

This last two years, we've always been chasing

money for some reason.

As much money as we've been taking in, it goes out.

So hard to know how much money's coming in

and you're trying to keep things with the banker and keep the money in,

it doesn't come in, you've got to wait for it, it's hard.

The biggest fear's taking money and making money

and if something goes wrong, you're going to be in trouble.

It costs over £3,000 to raise a bull for sale,

so to make money, Martin's put a reserve of 4,000 guineas -

or £4,200 - on Ironhide.

3,500.

3,500.

Aw Jesus.

3,800.

It's quite good, it's a heifer's calf.

Heifer's calf, good bull.

3,800.

Suddenly the bidding stalls.

Gosh, that's quiet. It's quiet in here.

Ironhide fails to make his reserve price.

That's just depressing, really, isn't it?

Not enough. Right, we'll go try the next three.

I'm not looking very excited for this, really.

Hard work, really hard work.

This is payday for us and, you know, there's a bull that should have

been selling for 4,000, 6,000 easy - he's unsold after

getting first in his class, that's pretty sad, like.

There's a sale in a month's time - I'll try him at that

and hopefully get him sold.

Martin must pin his hopes on his three younger bulls.

At 16 months old, they're approaching the height

of their reproductive prime, so the demand and prices should be high.

Imperial is first in the ring.

4,200...

Martin's set a reserve of 5,000 guineas per bull.

4,500. Are you all done now?

4,500 guineas.

Imperial fails to make his reserve.

Are you all done now? 4,500 guineas.

Ice doesn't hit his target, either.

You can see there's no atmosphere, there's no buzz -

it's hard work, really hard work.

If he's to take home any money today,

his last hope rests on this bull, his mushroom of muscle, Iceman.

3,200...3,500...3,800...4,000.

The minimum he'll accept is 5,000 guineas.

5,000, then, 5,000 guineas.

5,000, 5,000 guineas.

5,000, then, 5,000 guineas.

At last, a sale.

We did really well at judging - we never expected - so we thought

that would help the sale.

The sale's just not been a good sale. It's nae the best day, but

I'm coming home with two young bulls I'll keep till February and just

back to work on the farm tomorrow and just get on with things.

Sold one bull, five grand, happy enough with that.

Better than nothing, I suppose.

In London, at the awards ceremony, John Scott is still waiting for a result.

Sheep Farmer of the Year is one of the last categories to be announced.

Finally, it's time.

So let's remind ourselves

who's in contention for the Sheep Farmer of the Year.

John's competing against two successful farming enterprises -

one from Warwickshire...

Sales of Greenfield Lambs at farmers' markets

and on his website have gone from strength to strength, ensuring....

..the other from Cumbria.

Size of flock and turnover have improved

dramatically since John took over the management six years ago.

And from Fearne Farm in Ross-shire, John Scott.

APPLAUSE

Having doubled the amount of land on his farm and tripled the size of his flock,

could this give him the edge?

I was very nervous on the lead up to the award being announced.

I made a conscious decision to make sure I'd drunk plenty of water

because if there wasn't water beside me I might have drunk beer

and that wouldn't have been a good result.

The winner of the Sheep Farmer of the Year is...

..John Scott.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

John has beaten his two rivals and the dozen other entrants.

Please congratulate your Sheep Farmer of the Year,

John Scott, ladies and gentlemen.

That is a magnificent kilt, sir!

In a state of shock. We've come here,

we had high hopes of winning the Sheep Farmer of the Year Award

and we've won it.

Taking it home to the Easter Ross and the Highlands and it's got

my name on it,

but it's very much a team effort from Dad, kids, Fiona

and all the team.

-We're just delighted - really chuffed, aren't we?

-Yeah.

Yeah. An amazing place to come. Fish out of water.

I'm looking forward to getting home to my quad bike and my dog.

Next time...

Sybil must tear some families apart.

For a few days, the cows will break their hearts

looking for their calves.

I must say I find it quite upsetting to listen to them.

On Lewis, Sandy needs to get his boat back on the water.

We use it to take sheep out to the islands and back.

Lie down!

And Anne struggles to keep sheep dog Jim under control.

He hasn't worked sheep for three weeks and he's just not listening.