Episode 22 Landward

Hello, and a very warm welcome to Landward, celebrating the best of

Scotland's countryside. In a moment, Sarah will be looking at the new

scheme to give aspiring farmers a foothold in the industry. First,

here's what else is coming up on the programme. Celebrating the

origins of the iconic Aberdeen Angus. It's quite extraordinary to

think that in 1860 they were created and now they are all over

the world. We meet the man who makes the traditional Orkney chair.

They were traditionally designed to keep the cold draughts out and the

warmth from the pete fire in. So they use natural material, straw

from the fields and driftwood from the shore. And Nick creates another

gourmet meal from leftovers. Do you like it hot? I do, yes. OK, we're

going to make it really nice and The long tradition of families

running farms is becoming a thing of the past. As younger generations

look for better-paid jobs elsewhere, Scotland's farms are being run by a

much older, experienced generation. It's also notoriously difficult for

young people to break into farming, injecting new blood into the

industry. But, as Sarah has been finding out, a few have been

getting a much-needed helping hand into farming.Farming was very much

Farms were passed down to the next generation, keeping the skills and

knowledge on the land and a But, in the past 20 years, things

have changed. Sons and daughters are less likely to stay and work on

the family farm. The average age of And even when children do want to

take over a farm, passing the property on is not always

straightforward. There are very often succession issues where there

are one or two children, three of four sometimes, and the family

assets have to be diluted amongst these children. So what happens is

that the farm is sold on and the youngsters don't get the

opportunity. These potential young farmers are then faced with a

problem of buying or leasing a farm The biggest obstacles for aspiring

farmers are the high cost of farmland and the lack of available

tenancies. With this in mind, efforts are now under way to inject

The Forestry Commission is running a pilot Starter Farm Initiative to

help new entrants into the industry. The initiative was piloted by

Forestry Commission Scotland six months ago when we offered two

units to let in Fife. Both of these units have now been let and we have

two very capable young men at the reins of these units. Zander Hughes

is the first new entrant to take on a Forestry Commission starter farm.

How does it feel? It feels great. It's still very much in the early

days at the moment. We've only been in the house for about a month now.

Already we've got crops in the ground, we are getting the farm

back to how it should be and we are making progress. Zander came to us

with a plan that ticked all the right boxes. He's a young lad, he's

got drive, he's got enthusiasm. The difficult thing about the whole

process is that we have a lot of real people that have driev and

enthusiasm and it's hard to pick Why did you apply for a Starter

Farm Initiative? I saw it, and still do see it, as a huge

opportunity. It's very rare to get the chance to have your own arable

farm, nowhere more so than in Fife where these opportunities are very

much sought after. So it was a great opportunity and it still is.

How difficult is it to get a foot on the farming ladder? In some

areas, it's difficult. In other areas, its near impossible. You

need a very, very big bank balance or a very considerate bank manager,

You also have to be willing to make some pretty major sacrifices for a

couple of years until you get a business on its feet. It makes

becoming established particularly Following the big interest and high

number of applicants for the pilot scheme, it is now being extended to

three more farms across Scotland. Today, potential new entrants are

coming to view this farm in Aberdeenshire. I've 300 sheep at

home on my family farm. But it's not enough, it will never be big

enough for me again, just to have my own sheep and make a name for

myself. So, the house is a couple of years old. Three bedrooms. The

master bedroom, upstairs with an en-suite. Do you think there's a

lot of potential? I do. I think it's got the potential to go far.

There are plenty of buildings for moving forward. It's a good start,

yes. What would you do with it? Probably have a few cattle and some

sheep, just go from there. It's great that there is a starter farm,

I can try for it and somebody is getting an opportunity to get a

start. It's not a bigger farmer coming in and taking over.

plans are to produce another three farms in six months' time and more

farms as we develop them from our resources. A lot of tenant farms

nowadays are just going to a neighbouring farmer or someone they

know. It's hard to get your foot into farming. This is the kind of

thing that would be good for the farming community. For other people,

not just me, the other people as well. There is still a lot of work

to be done to get new talent into farming. But the Scottish

government and other agencies have started to tackle the shortfall.

With initiatives like this one, doors will open for a lucky few.

You must be pretty chuffed, pretty happy? Very. Very lucky to have

been given the opportunity. It was a tough challenge to get the

finance in place to be able to do it. I'm very lucky that I have

managed to do that with help from friends, family, neighbours and

everyone else. Very fortunate, very chuffed that I'm standing here

today. Still to come, Euan takes us back to the birthplace of the

Aberdeen Angus breed. Sir George was my great grandfather and he

started to the first heard of Aberdeen Angus in 1860. Since then,

they have been peacefully grazing in front of the castle. And we find

out how to make an Orkney chair. average, a standard Orkney chair

will take 100 hours from start to finish. But it will last hundreds

and hundreds of years. When times are hard, it's important we cut

down on waste. Finding something interesting to do with your

leftover roast isn't always easy. Thankfully, Nick is here to help.

Last week I joined the Scott family on their Easter Ross farm. After

finding out about farm and it's fantastic produce, I joined Fiona

in the kitchen to make the most of the leftovers from Sunday lunch.

Our efforts. And the leftover beef. Were not wasted on Fiona and her

four hungry children. As well as rearing pedigree cattle, John also

has an impressive flock of pedigree and commercial sheep. Over the

years, we have tried various different breeds. The two main ones

we are using are the Texel, originally from France and New

Zealand Suffolk. You've got a big family, John. How often do you try

to eat food from your own farm? Every opportunity we get. One of

the favourite meal times for us would be sitting down with a roast

of Scotch lamb that's been produced here, on a Sunday, around the

dining room table. Just chatting through what we've done through the

week, what we're going to do the next week and it's a great family

occasion. John, I'm very glad that you are generous with the amount of

meet you're roasting and that there are leftovers. Because I think it's

time that we went back down into A house with this many wellies,

So, Fiona, you are a farmer's wife which means you are a busy person.

Presumably you don't have a lot of time for the kitchen? Yes, I can be

two or three days in the office doing book-keeping and I sometimes

help John moving stock around. anything that can save you time in

the kitchen would be a bonus? Definitely. So, we are going to

make a quick curry using up this rather tasty looking pieces of

roast lamb. So, if you want to dice that up into little cubes. Not too

small. I'll start making the curry base. Actually, you can make this

curry base in advance and freeze it and just put the lamb in at the

last minute. You don't actually have to cook that with it. So, I'll

start making the base. Plenty of oil. Maybe even a couple of

tablespoons. Three or four tablespoons of oil in here. To that

we are going to add quite a lot actually. Do you like it hot?

Right, we're going to make it really nice and spicy. So that's

three green chillies, sliced up. A couple of inches of ginger, chopped

into slices. A bit of cumin seeds, whole cumin seeds. I'll just let

this cook down on the stove. how long can I keep leftover meat

for in the fridge? As long as it's cooled down quickly and kept in a

sealed container, two days, safely in the fridge. So, that is cardamom

seeds as well. And some garlic. Quite a lot of garlic. That is

quite a lot. Yes. When you are cooking with garlic, the whole

family eats the garlic and nobody is left out. A large amount.

So, the lamb is chopped up, ready to go. The base is nearly there.

This is the cheat, we are using curry paste from a jar. As mild or

hot as you like. I'm fairly generous with it, a couple of big

So, we are ready for the lamb. If you want to add that in. That's

lovely. We'll cook the lamb in the spice base. That will start to

So, Fiona, could you chop up the coriander, stalks and all? There's

The stock, just enough to cover the lamb. We're going to add some

tomatoes, just quartered tomatoes in there. I'm not going to cook the

tomatoes right down until they go soggy. You want to keep a bit of

bite to them. We will cover that and leave that to cook for about 15

So, that has had about 15 minutes now. The tomatoes just starting to

soften down. All that flavours comes out, so it smells pretty good.

At this stage, we can add the spinach. How much? The whole lot.

It looks like masses, but once it's cooked down, it will disappear. And

the coriander as well. Cook that off for two or three minutes and

then a little bit of mango chutney for sweetness. And a bit of lime, a

little bit of sweet and sour thing at the end. That's it done. It

really is very quick. Start to That's delicious. Now, there are

millions of different ways of using up the leftovers from your Sunday

roast. But for some fresh ideas go to the Quality Meat Scotland

website scotchbeefandlamb.com and click on the recipe section for

some new ideas. Enjoy your leftovers. I'm certainly enjoying

This year is the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Aberdeen

Angus Herd Book, the family tree that traces the breed back to its

earliest origins. Euan travel to the north-east to find out how the

breed has developed into the The Aberdeen Angus is one of our

most iconic native breeds. From humble beginnings, they have gone

on to dominate the beef industry worldwide. I think it would be true

to say the Aberdeen Angus breed is the most successful each breed in

the world, and it all stems from the north-east of Scotland, the

twin cradles of Aberdeen and Angus, and it has spread all over the

world to the major beef producing countries, Argentina they reckon

there's 50 million there, 80% Aberdeen Angus, all emanating from

the north-east of Scotland. The Aberdeen Angus cattle you see

here at the Turriff Show are the direct descendants of the small

hardy black cattle that once roamed the north-east of Scotland for

hundreds of years. Then in the 19th century a few foresighted farmers

saw the value of their native breeds, and started a selective

breeding program. The rest, as they breeding program. The rest, as they

The Aberdeen Angus breed was started by Hugh Watson of Keillor

in Angus and his contemporary William McCombie of Tillyfour in

This is the first copy of the polled herd book as it was then,

the initial register of pedigree Aberdeen Angus cattle. How does a

herd book work? By definition, it is a pedigree lineage history, so

every herd book is sequential so you can trace from the modern herd

book back to the original, it is just a database.

How does it start? Interestingly, it starts with an

appropriate bull called Old Jock, the very first entry in the book as

you will see. That's him behind you. What did

they start with? Where did they take them from?

There would have been a collection of local cattle in Aberdeenshire

and Angus, and these breeders collected together cattle which

looked the same. Of course, the major component of that collection

was they were hornless, quite unique.

It is hard to imagine all the Aberdeen Angus throughout the world,

millions of cattle, descended are from old Jock. Most of the modern

cattle around the world can be taken to foundations families that

started here all those years ago. This is our way of ensuring the

The work done by Watson and McCombie was followed by another

important figure in the form of Sir George MacPherson-Grant. And the

herd he established here at Ballindalloch is the oldest in the

world, and it is still owned by his descendants.

Sir George was my great-grandfather, and he started the first herd of

Aberdeen Angus in 1860. Since then they have been peacefully grazing

in front of the castle for all those years.

How much have they changed since the very first ones? They have

changed quite a lot. In the old days they had very short legs. And

now they have got much longer legs. And much bigger animals, bigger

carcasses. It is quite extraordinary to think 1860 they

were created, and now they are in Australia, New Zealand, South

America, America and Canada, all over the world.

Would Sir George have approved of these beasts at the bottom of your

garden? I think he would be delighted. My

great-grandfather said if the family ever got rid of the Aberdeen

Angus that would be the end of the family at Ballindalloch.

No pressure then! The Aberdeen Angus may have evolved

with the demands of the industry of the last 150 years, but it's

worldwide reputation and incredible popularity means its future is

If you have a comment about anything on the programme or have a

wonderful story to share please e- Now, the weather here in Kippen at

the old parish church graveyard is misty, pretty atmospheric, but what

about the prospects for this weekend and beyond? Here is the

After some turbulent weather this week tomorrow it is looking much

better. If we take a look at the pressure charred we can see some

showers across the north-west, but elsewhere a cold, frosty start and

fairly dry with a good amount of sunshine. A cold start across much

of the country, that friends -- fresh breeze across northern

coastal parts. Plenty of sunshine and blue sky. Look at the

temperature. Crisp sunshine. Some cloud but generally dry and bright.

Showers are more likely across the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. If

you are walking or climbing across the western ranges we will see some

wintry showers over the high ground but easing through the day.

Temperatures above freezing at the summits. Plenty of sunshine,

fantastic visibility, but it will be cold. If you are out and about

in the south-west you can expect fair conditions, good visibility.

And over in the east not bad either. Good visibility. Later on the wind

increases and we could see some rough seas. Across Shetland, some

squally showers for much of the day, but easing by the afternoon. A into

the evening and overnight, cold and frosty, but there is that rain

working his way up. As it runs into the cold air it will produce snow

over the hills and mountains. Temperatures close to freezing for

many. Because of that rain we have a Met Office warning. It is yellow,

be aware, we are expecting heavy rain. This low-pressure heading

towards us. It is a glancing blow. Across the south-east up towards

Angus, that is where we are expecting heavy rain to be. The

further west and north-west, drier, some brightness, but fairly limited.

Next week the low-pressure pulled away towards Scandinavia, we see a

northerly flow of her. Fairly cold on Monday, affair and out of cloud

around. -- there will be a fair amount of cloud. Tuesday, it still

with a northerly flow of air, it will be cold, had fully more in the

way of brightness. Inland one or two showers, wintery ever higher

ground, temperatures seven degrees. Similar story as we head through to

Wednesday, generally dry and bright. Over the past couple of weeks Sarah

has been meeting the craftsmen and women living and working on the

Orkney Islands. This week in the final part of her series she is

meeting a man who is reinterpreting Making straw back chairs is an age-

old tradition here on Orkney. They originated from a simple piece of

furniture which islanders could make using whichever materials were

available. And today is no different. Fraser Anderson is a

young furniture maker who embraces the local tradition. I don't want

to stop you mid-chair, Fraser, but tell me what are you doing. Just

working on a straw back Orkney chair. They were traditionally

designed to keep the cold drafts out and the warmth from the peat

fire in, so they got the straw from the fields and driftwood from the

shore, because it was the only timber available to them as there

are no trees on the island. Just building the back up, row by row,

all the way to the top, this way you can shape the chair to suit the

individual. The natural material shapes and moulds to the person's

posture over time, so this makes it particularly comfortable, years and

Being able to keep a tradition going is really satisfying. It is

also still in demand, there are that many traditions dying away

through factories, machines, the Orkney chair is still made the same

way it was hundreds of years ago. Do you come across many of the

original chairs? Yes, I actually have a fair

collection of them, all the different designs. They were first

made commercially in 1895 but anything before that was a

traditional Orkney chair because it was made by the poor man for

themselves. They were known as the poor man's chair because they

couldn't afford furniture from the mainland.

Like the chair makers before him Fraser forages for materials on the

shore. But his method of collecting is definitely 21st entry. --

Fraser, I am loving your approach to collecting your materials. How

often do you do that? Usually in the winter time, over

the four to five months, but this year we have got quite a lot of big

logs, so after a big storm you go out looking down the cliffs, across

the skerries, it never really on the beaches, it always gets stopped

before it arrives on the beaches. This is a beauty, any clue as to

where it is from? It looks like it is Oregon pine, from North America,

but it has been a tree cos it's go the roots still been there at some

point so they have just been wiped away with the battering of the sea.

You will get the sea stain through the timber with the salt

penetrating the wood, so there is a blue streak through the timber and

it makes a really nice character when it is dried out in two and a

half years' time. It'll be another two and a half

years before you can use this. Yes, I tend to air dry it outside,

let the rain get the salt water out. It is a long process but it's worth

Fraser's modern approach doesn't stop with the jet ski. He also

likes to create new designs. When I first started I came out

with around back Orkney chair and this was more of a kind of easy

chair which means you didn't need to sit upright in the chair, you

could turn sideways onto it, you could sit in a relaxed posture, it

catches you in the upper back rather than the lower back, more of

a modern chair, but still traditional because it is made in

the same sort of way. Are they quite popular?

Really popular. Nowadays that I have gone back to the traditional

method of using driftwood, a lot of different materials, other timbers

to match people's homes, so you can make more individual pieces which

is all one-off, rather than a standard Orkney chair.

I know each chair is different in size, but how long, on average,

does it take you to make a chair? On average a standard chair will

take 100 hours from start to finish so it is quite time-consuming. But

it is worth it in the end. It will last hundreds of years when it is

The Orkney chair is one of the island's oldest traditions, but

with young furniture makers like Fraser embracing and reinventing

the craft it is likely they will be made here for many years to come. I

What an absolutely beautiful chair, and before I take my well-earned

seat, just got time to tell you what is coming up next week's

programme. How island butchers saved the Orkney abattoir. We are

keen to keep it going. We get a lot of backing from the farmers, they

have been helping as much as they can. And Sarah confronts her fear

of horses. Learning to communicate with a horse is the key to becoming

more confident, but the big test for me will be getting in the