Episode 4 The Mart

He'll be taking control of a livestock auction

for the very first time.

Farming is a risky business.

And when it's time to make money, the stakes are high.

Thainstone Mart, one of Europe's biggest livestock markets.

If you want perfection, there it is. That is some machine.

Sheep, cattle, and machinery,

auctioned to the highest bidder,

day in, day out.

Farmers spend months getting ready for their big sales day.

You foul brute.

And buyers need nerves of steel to bag the bargains.

Folk can easily get carried away,

it's a bit of an adrenaline thing, bidding.

Fortunes can be made and dreams can be dashed.

All in the blink of an eye.

Always expect the unexpected.

Welcome to The Mart.

It's out of the old and in with the new at the mart this week.

Me? Aye.

As rookie auctioneer Scott Chapman finds himself in the livestock

auction box for the first time.

89, I've got 99. 89, I've got 99.

80? 89. 88.50. 88.50? 88.50 - Colin Simpson. Simpson.

The Miller brothers need a good price at auction

if they're to continue generations of history,

raising their traditional Caithness sheep.

If you can't really make any money out of them,

why are you going to keep going at it?

What are you doing to the eggs today? Give us a hold of that.

And catering supervisor Linda Fyfe

risks the ire of dozens of hungry martmen

when she puts her new spicy sausages on the menu.

Are you going to try my chilli banger?

It's the crack of dawn at Thainstone Mart.

It's only just gone six.

A Duff Colliston here.

And head sheep auctioneer Colin Slessor and his team

already have their hands full.

At the moment, we're sorting out store lambs.

1,300 store lambs are ready for the sale.

With another 800 ewes to follow,

that's more than 2,000 sheep to shift.

But the team are a man down.

Trainee auctioneer Scott Chapman is nowhere to be seen.

He's late but I've just received a text message.

"Just coming, been stuck at the lights,

"just outside Inverurie. Sorry."

HE CHUCKLES That's a good one.

I think that's just Morse code for,

"I'm running a wee bit behind schedule."

I don't think the lights at Inverurie are a big problem to be fair.

But, I dare say when I was 21, I maybe sent messages like that.

Although there wasn't even text messages when I was 21.

With the hard work all but over,

a sheepish Scott arrives to face the music.

Morning, you well?

I would have replied to your text

but I was flat-out sorting sheep, so...

He's laughing now but Colin's got a big surprise in store for Scott.

On a more serious note,

you'll be doing the last 20 minutes or half an hour of ewes today.

All right?

Silence. That's all right.

Happy? Aye.

OK. Show it.

Colin's giving Scott his first chance in the box

at a sheep auction.

Feel like you're ready to do it? I think so, aye.

You maybe need to let go of the gate at some point.

I'm nae too sure if that went well or no'.

Looks a bit more apprehensive than I hoped.

Colin's obviously looking forward to it, Scott less so.

I'm nervous, aye.

Just nervous, we'll have to wait and see.

But if he thinks I'm ready then...

I'll give it a go, aye.

Also preparing for a sheep sale is Quoybrae Mart,

200 miles from Thainstone.

It's Aberdeen and Northern Marts most northerly outpost and services

the farming community of Caithness and beyond.

Getting ready to take their sheep to market

are farming brothers Iain and Donny Miller.

The brothers raise half-bred Cheviots, traditional in Caithness

and in Iain's family.

Dad had them, Grandad before him,

and probably his grandad before that.

It's all there ever was in Caithness for years and years.

But the brothers have a problem.

The Cheviot ewes produce fewer lambs than other sheep.

Fine when the market for them is good,

disastrous, like now, when prices are low.

Things are so bad, Iain and Donny are considering ending a 150 years

of tradition and getting out of the half-bred Cheviot business for good.

If I could get two lambs from every Cheviot I had,

there'd be no question I'd be going out with them,

but I just can't get the numbers on the ground to get money in the bank.

Och, it's quite sad too, because I quite like the breed,

but if you can't really make any money out of them,

why are you going to keep going at it?

The price they get at the Quoybrae Mart for their 150 lambs

will determine whether they continue producing half-bred Cheviots.

You have to get a good price today, it's a very important sale today.

Achieving a good price will be easier if the lambs can win a prize

at the presale show.

Same, I think.

Gaining a red ticket attracts buyers

so selecting the right lambs is crucial.

What I'm looking for in the ones they show is just basically

the biggest one, you don't want too rough a head,

sweeter-looking head, good dark eye, that's pretty important.

Just a leg in each corner.

Hopefully, if we get a red ticket,

it'll help us out when we go in the sale ring.

Hopefully get a few more bids.

The sale is make-or-break for Iain and Donny and the future

of the half-bred Cheviots.

Aye, it's butterflies going in my stomach just now.

But you don't know until you go in.

At Thainstone, there's an army of yardmen and women hard at work.

And at 7 o'clock in the morning

there's only one thing on their mind.

Breakfast is important, especially if you're in about

six o'clock in the morning.

A hungry man's an angry man.

Preparing for the onslaught of these angry men

is one of the mart's most important employees.

Is that none of the buns cut today?

Catering supervisor Linda Fife.

Nothing's gone wrong that I can't sort out, darling,

let me tell you now.

Linda doesn't open until eight but there's already a queue of farmers

who don't know any better.

Gentleman, can you give me five minutes? Five minutes?

Five minutes, darling, I promise I'll be ready.

But the kitchen isn't as accommodating

about Linda's decision to open early.

Black pudding, beans and tatties, please.

When it's ready, it's ready! Because people have come early today,

I didn't know they were coming early.

So, I've promised them they'll get their breakfast in five minutes, OK?

Sausages, seven minutes, maybe five.

OK. Seven minutes, maybe five.

And colleague Stewart Bygate

doesn't meet Linda's exacting standards either.

What are you doing to the eggs today? Scrambling.

Give us a hold of that.

Nane of the farmers like a burst yolk.

For Linda, it's a busy start, much like any other day,

except that it isn't.

Because today is my 24th year

working for Aberdeen and Northern Marts.

And some of the young farmers that's coming in today,

I've known them since they were kids,

so I've actually seen them growing up.

And over the years, Linda's been serving up

the same traditional fare,

but today she's putting something different on the menu.

Yeah, we're trying a chilli sausage,

but I really don't know how the farmers are going to come

to this because they don't really like change.

I think it's going to be a bit of fun, really.

Chilli?!

And she has some persuading to do if the reaction amongst her colleagues

Stewart and Gemma is anything to go by.

Not really what I would like as a sort of morning sausage.

I don't eat meat, so...

I can just imagine if I said to the farmers,

"Good morning, would you like to try a vegetarian sausage today?"

I would fairly be told where to put it.

Right, gentleman, would you like to come and get your breakfast, please?

Today we've got a sausage-of-the-day which is a chilli banger.

No, I'll stick to the normal.

What's the main ingredient of the chilli banger? A chilli.

Would you like me to go and ask what the main ingredient is?

I think I'll just have an egg and bacon, please.

Looks like Linda's in for a long morning.

At Quoybrae Mart in Caithness,

Iain and Donny Miller arrive with their half-bred Cheviot lambs.

The price they get here at auction will go a long way to deciding

if the brothers continue the family tradition of breeding these sheep.

It will be hard to give them up because it's just something

that we've always done and it's just...

I'm not one for change.

We'll just have to see what goes on in here.

The brothers have a pen of 20, a pen of ten,

and two individual lambs entered in the presale show.

Best show her, then.

Changing our minds...

at what the best one is.

A good result could drive up prices in the ring.

It's down to judge Harry Sleigh to pick the winners.

Half-bred is the queen of sheep.

When it's produced well, to a high standard,

I don't think there's a sheep to beat it in the country.

This is round one.

The pen of 20 is first up for Harry's consideration.

A good, even pen. Very good.

Starting to sweat a bit.

It's a tough call for Harry.

First, second, third.

And the Millers can only manage third.

Oh, well.

It's the pen of ten next.

We've a slightly better chance with this one.

Heart's beating.

He's seen something in them. He's having another look.

Either he's happy or not happy.

Harry likes what he sees and so does Iain.

Nice one. Happy with that.

Hopefully getting that first prize will help us get another ?20 a head.

We can always hope.

And the Millers come up trumps once again when one of their lambs

takes the top individual prize.

Right, folks. In the singles, first prize...

goes to the Messrs Miller, Buckies.

It's a great start to the day.

Morning, ladies and gentlemen.

Welcome along to our annual show and sale...

But with the Millers' lambs about to go under the hammer,

it's prices, not prizes that will convince Iain and Donny

to stick with the half-breds.

It's coming down to it now.

Yeah, getting quite nervous now.

You can do all you want for showing.

Showing's just a bit of fun really at the end of the day,

but this is what counts now.

Good morning, gentlemen. My eggs is getting hard.

At Thainstone, Linda Fyfe is using all of her charm

to promote the spicy new item on the breakfast menu.

Surprise, surprise today for breakfast.

She's hoping the hungry mart staff are up for a culinary challenge.

Want to try my chilli banger?

Oh, I'll have two of them. OK.

Linda, how're your eggs today? They're fabulous, look.

Are you going to try our chilli bangers, Robbie, now?

No, no, no. Aye, you're a coward.

I love all my yardsmen.

Love them all. Good fun.

Hello, Davey. Hello, darling. How are you doing? I'm fine. Yourself?

Listen, I've got a chilli banger on today. Have you?

What do you think of that? Hot and spicy!

Yeah, hot and spicy. LAUGHTER

Are you going to come back and tell me how you're getting on

with your hot sausage?

I was wondering if you'd like to try a chilli banger?

I'm feart of chilli bangers. Are you? Are you not going to try it?

I just love working here with customers.

I love them - them all.

But do they love her sausages?

Thank you.

A bit hot.

Aye, it was a bit nippy but it was fine, like.

It was a bit hot, aye.

A wee bit hot.

It just doesn't suit my taste, like. No. That was great.

Just absolutely fantastic.

Ken, this has went really well today.

I really think it's been about 50-50.

But what will Linda make of the bangers she's been dishing out?

Oh, that's got really, really fine. I'm enjoying that. Yeah.

You need to turn the camera off.

For God's sake.

It's going in the bucket.

There is no time for breakfast out on the highway

for livestock haulier Paddy Trimble, but he couldn't be happier.

I wasn't really a big fan of schooling.

I remember I didn't pay much attention.

I was always daydreaming and the teacher says to me,

"Mr Trimble, you need to pay attention and concentrate

"because you're not going to get paid to look out a window."

And here I am today and I'm getting paid to do it,

so that teacher was wrong!

The view is one of the bonuses of moving livestock

to and from Thainstone.

But he's not looking forward to his next job.

I would say I've been...not dreading it, but slightly nervous.

Paddy's picking up 32 cattle from Kinclune, a farm near Kirriemuir.

Just from memory, you know, I just...

I don't know if it's going to be physically possible to get...

To get manoeuvred into where we need to be to load the cattle.

Paddy's been to the farm before, but in a much smaller truck.

If we go up and can't get reversed in,

then we have a long reverse back down again.

The lorry cost over ?200,000.

It's Paddy's responsibility.

I've had this lorry now for about five months

and I haven't bashed it and I don't want to bash my lorry,

that would be just devastating.

I'll just have to keep calm and either be a hero or a zero.

But first, Paddy's got to tackle the forest stage.

This is the widest bit of the farm.

It's just going to get narrower from here on in.

And, great, we've got our first obstacle already.

That's just super.

The lorry is 50-feet-long, but it's also over eight-feet-wide.

Trim the trees as we're heading up.

Certainly wasn't built for Paddy coming in with a decker.

We're going to turn you in there forward... Yep.

And then back you round.

Easier said than done.

This place was built for a horse and cart.

I've got a shed here on my left.

Squeezing the massive lorry into the narrow farmyard

takes two three-point turns and lots of sweat.

Apologies for running over your grass,

but I'm going to do it because it will make my job easier.

So far, so good but I'd say this is going to be the tricky bit,

getting around here.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

That should do. We'll go get them loaded.

HE WHISTLES Come on, guys. Hey, hey. On the bus.

Upsies! Come on. Hey, hey.

Manoeuvring the truck into position might have been tricky,

but moving the cattle is dangerous.

HE WHISTLES Hey! Upsies! Upsies!

In his two-and-a-half-year career, Paddy's been head-butted by sheep,

kicked by cattle, and even bitten by a pig.

He finds the gentle approach works best.

See you later. All the best.

We've survived the hard bits at Kinclune,

so we just have to get them to Thainstone as safe as we can,

and hopefully they come off nice and clean and quiet

and happy and content.

And then you'll have a happy driver.

It's decision time in Caithness for brothers Iain and Donny Miller.

The outcome of their sheep sale today will decide

whether they continue the family tradition

of raising half-bred Cheviots.

We'll just have to wait and see.

We'll get our medicine in a minute.

Last year, they averaged ?98 a head, but they'll need much more than that

today for the 150 lambs if they're to stick with the breed.

Iain hopes to hit the ground running

when their champion lamb enters the ring.

170. 170. 170 bid.

180 bid. 180. 190.

190. 190 bid. 200. 200. 210. 210.

220. 220. 220. 220 goes to...

220, a great start to the sale

and the next single lamb does almost as well.

200. 200. Same way.

But two good prices aren't going to do it on their own.

The pen of ten is in next.

On my left then at 150.

155. 155. 155. 155. 155.

At 155. Harry Sleigh, 155.

The judge, Harry Sleigh, has put his money where his mouth is

and bought them for 155 a head.

120 bid. 120 bid. At 120.

The next pen of 20 goes for ?122 a head.

122, then...

And the brothers are on course to beat last year's average.

80 bid. At 80 bid. At 80.

It's all down to the lot of remaining lambs.

At 88. At 88. At 80. At 90.

92. 95. 95. 95. 98. 100. 100.

102. 105. 105. 105. 105.

105 for Harry Sleigh.

?105 each, and judge Harry is the buyer again.

It's been a good sale for Iain, but now he's got a decision to make.

Just have a bit of thinking now.

I'll go up and see what my brother's saying

and we'll take it from there.

I'll make my mind up over the next hour

and see then if we decide to stay in with the Cheviots.

Brother, Donny, is just as undecided about the future of the half-breds.

I'm wondering if it's enough to keep you in it, keep you doing it,

you know? I don't know if it is.

At the sales office, will the sight of the cheque

sway the brothers' decision?

Excellent. That's a much better way of doing it.

?16,994.

The brothers have managed an average of ?119 a head.

A solid amount, but it's just not enough to keep them

in the half-bred Cheviots.

It's been a good day.

It's been a good day for us, but I think it's time to move on

and try something else.

It's just...

You've got to make your figures stack up at the end of the day.

It probably is the end of an era.

Tradition's one thing but there's no room for sentiment

when there's bills to be paid.

At Thainstone, the sheep sale is in full swing.

Head auctioneer Colin Slessor is in the box

but he's about to hand over to rookie Scott Chapman.

He'll be taking control of a livestock auction

for the very first time.

Take your book and let's go up here.

James will lock that gate.

Me? Aye.

Colin only told him this morning that he was putting him in,

but that's still given him plenty of time to get nervous.

53. 53.

The nerves are fairly in now.

Got the nerves now, like.

Today's customers are some of the biggest players

in the livestock buying game,

and as head auctioneer Colin Slessor knows,

they don't take any prisoners.

'They're hard men, they're out to do business,

'and they'll be pretty tough on an experienced auctioneer.

'But, you know, he's got to learn.'

I'll hand you over to Scott...

Colin's been keeping the prices up and the sale moving quickly.

Now, it's down to Scott. On you go. Watch your gavel.

There's your ticket. Put it on the spike. OK?

Put it on the spike. On the spike.

Right, one Texel ewe. One Texel ewe. Watch the gavel.

?80. ?60. 50. ?50. 50 bid.

52. 52. 54. 56.

57. 58. 59.

Despite his nerves, Scott gets a decent price for his first lot.

76. 78. 79. 79. Have I got 79?

78.50 - Bill Cameron.

But auctioneering is not just about spotting bids,

there's the arithmetic.

Five ewes. Write it down. Write it down. Five ewes.

And there's the paperwork...

79. 78.50. Colin Simpson.

As soon as you do it, shove it down. 78.50, it was. 78.50.

Eight ewes...

And keeping all the buyers and sellers happy.

Mrs Duff, sitting at the top. Duff, this time. Lady sitting up high.

How many in there then? Lady up there. How many in there?

Eight. Eight of them this time.

Also watching is head auctioneer Alan Hutcheon.

He's responsible for Scott's training

and knows what he's going through.

Following Colin, following a guy that's been doing it for years

is always nerve-racking.

He'll be thinking, "Can I do as good a job as him?"

Well, you just have to focus and concentrate,

just get into your stride.

Make sure your breathing's right and get into your stride.

But he's not quite there yet.

89. I've got 99. 89. 99. 89. 88.50. 88.50.

88.50, Colin Simpson. Simpson.

It's almost as stressful for Colin as it is for Scott.

It's far more nerve-racking than doing it yourself.

I think he's nearly stopped shaking now.

He was shaking like a leaf to begin with.

But Scott settles down, finds his feet,

and confirms Colin's faith in him.

52. 53. 54. 5. 6. 57. 58. 59.

59. At 59. 58.50, Bill Cameron.

He could do another hundred... Couple of hundred, no bother.

32 bid. 31.50. Same way.

Thank everybody. Thanks very much.

It's all we've got time for today.

That was a big puff of air.

Once you've done 20,000, you'll be fine.

I can't even get my numbers right there.

Scott sold 106 sheep for almost ?7,000.

Not bad for only four months in the job.

Och, I'm chuffed, aye. I think I was maybe just a bit too quick.

I was trying to follow an auctioneer that's been selling for 25 years.

Och, it's all learning, like.

I'll just remember that for the next time.

And Colin's chuffed with him as well.

He only got... I don't know if it was half an hour there today.

It wasn't much but it's a start.

We'll give him the same again, every week a bit more.

I'll give him every opportunity.

He'll get plenty to sell.

If he's fit and able, he'll get plenty to do.

Yeah, I'm happy with him. Very happy.

As his day draws to a close,

pulling up at the mart with his load of cattle

is livestock haulier Paddy Trimble.

That's us arrived at Thainstone.

There you go. You get them off.

Better bring the paperwork.

The cattle won't be sold until tomorrow,

so they'll be spending the night at Thainstone.

We'll treat you well, buddy.

You do a good job, Robbie.

Yard supervisor Robbie Cruickshank will be looking after them

in the mart's indoor lairage, a B for sheep and cattle.

Look at that. They're happy.

Robbie, you're a star. Thank you. They're happy in there.

Paddy's day is over.

But like the cattle, he's staying at the mart, too.

This is the home from home.

Everything we need - we've got our seat, our bed.

That is the end for today and it's snooze time.

And Paddy will need all the rest he can get,

for tomorrow it all begins again,

for him and the mart.

Next time on The Mart...

Everyone's up against it.

The Simpsons have to get their sheep to market across one of the most

dangerous stretches of water in the world.

Anybody that hasn't had a silent prayer at sea, I think, is a liar.

You have a go.

Father and son team John and Ewan Gordon face a difficult delivery.

She's just doing nothing to help.

And yardman Robbie has to deal with a tricky tractor.

There isn't enough power in the battery.

Can he get it working before the machinery sale grinds to a halt?