Episode 24 Landward

Hello and welcome. This week I am and Cromarty. Later I will be

sampling the beer from a local brewery. First here is what coming

up on the programme. The thorny issue of succession

planning for farmers. They need to face up to these

things sooner rather than later. The greater pain is the uncertainty.

A parasite spread by box that can be fatal to cattle.

We now know that Neospora caninum is the biggest cause of infectious

abortion in cattle. It occurs in the UK and worldwide.

Patrick McGlinchey gives us another lesson in the bush craft. Once the

fibre is rolled be can give it a final twist and fold it. That is

the beginning of cordage making. Over the past decade there has been

a significant investment in Scotland's canal networks yet there

are still very few bolts on the water. -- boat. This year Scottish

Canals has launched that Living on Water initiative to encourage more

people to take part. These days living on a boat is not

about roughing it. Canal boats come in a range of sizes and styles to

suit the most discerning canal dweller. I am off to meet Sean

Doherty who has lived on a traditional bar for the last couple

of years. Hello. Permission to come on board. Come on through.

Why do you want to live on a canal boat? I find it peaceful and

tranquil. You are in the centre of Edinburgh but at the same time it

feels that you are in the countryside. It is a good community.

We all know each other. Why not stay in one place? If Davies. You

can stay a couple of days on visitor permits. On are not so busy

moorings you can stay for a longer period of time. Do you get bored

and decide to go to Falkirk or Glasgow? You just move on. A change

of scenery is one of the attractions of life on the canal.

But Sean Doherty has a hankering for a permit moving -- for a

permanent mooring. I do not know anybody that has applied to

Scottish Canals and did not get back mooring. The air is one that

you would like. There are residential and moorings. The idea

of having an mooring in the centre of Edinburgh is quite attractive.

The mooring he is interested in is in the heart of Edinburgh. It is

one of eight residential moorings being sold by Scottish Canals as

part of their Living on Water campaign. We needed to promote a

residential and business campaigns. We needed more animation and by

ritzy on the canals. That means people living and working in close

proximity to the canals. You get the visitors. What is the potential

for creating a real community? There is great community. -- there

is great potential. It is a different way of living. When you

go where it feels like a close-knit We are now heading into the centre

of Edinburgh. There is a narrow but coming up so I may hand over any

minute now. This is where you would like at mooring? Yes, the city

centre. It is permanent. High does that differ from what you have got

at the moment? Electricity is the main benefit. This is one of the

narrowest ones. A do you want to slow down? I do not. Who is going

to want to live on a boat in Edinburgh? Everybody at anybody.

That cut through the population. It is such an alternative lifestyle.

It could appeal to anybody. Young couples from their affordability

and there. Also older couples. refurbished boat is �60,000. It

goes up more if you want a bigger boat. You can get a second-hand

boat from �25,000. That makes it all the more affordable.

Will you extend this to the Caledonian Canal and the Crinan

Canal? Yes, we will expand it. We will expand it to the Muirtown

Basin Inverness and to Glasgow. And then we have another 10 locations.

Competition for their eight available spaces in Edinburgh is

steep. The moorings are being sold by auction to the highest builders.

It is �2,000 per year to rent the birth. -- to rent their mooring.

Over the past couple of years arrests and Bush Trav expert has

taken as foraging in some of Scotland's and wild places. -- bush

craft. To our ancestors trees offered more

than just timber. Take this tree for example. This is a lime tree.

It will provide me with these fibres. Let us go back to camp and

I will show you what I can do with them. We have our fibres. This is

what we can transform them into. Strong string. The bark is stripped

of. It is let to soak were six to eight weeks. Bacterial action

breaks down the glues. We are left with long ribbon like fibres ready

for use. Now we have got to roll these flat fibres on our buy. --

one hour five. Then we give it a fine twist and fold it and twist up.

That is the beginning of cordage making. Back on the five. Always a

forward role. Then we give them a final twist and twist from the back

always in the forward direction. Just, just, Darren. -- twist, twist,

turn. Cordage making is an ancient skill. At ancestors would have used

it every day to make strings for their bones and to bind things

together. -- bones. They would never have scaled the highest peaks

without the help of rope. There are many different fibres that would

fund can give be go. We have mettle, well, sweet chestnut, Bramble. As

well as making fine string we can make strong rope. There is a strong

saying that every good would man should have at least seven lengths

of good strong rope. You never know when you might need it.

At some point on the trail you will come across an obstacle like this

slippery slope. There are two ways down it. Head over heels or down on

my bum. I have got a good role. We can use this as an anchor point. --

agreed rope. A harness and what we go. -- of we

Down in one piece. The trousers are still clean. That is all for this

week. Next week I will be back in the woodlands doing something

rather festive. Still to come I need another of

Scotland's artisan beer producers. There have been a few producers up

until a few years ago. They had stopped producing. The time was

right to start it again. How do farmers plan a handover to the next

generation? Draw up a will and make a plan and try and make it happen.

The other option is to do nothing and let the legal system do it for

you. Most responsible dog owners make

sure the clean up their dog poo when walking in towns and villages.

Does the same happen in the countryside? Few bowlers will be

aware that the it dog's faeces could carry a parasite that is the

main cause of abortion in cattle. - - Few dog owners.

Dog poo. It is one of our houses of walking on any peak it. Orders to

fail to pick it up I guilty of anti-social behaviour cuts almost.

Education, signage, and the rest of fines has named that most dog

owners pick it up and dispose of it. At the same cannot be said in the

countryside. Any dog walkers figure it is OK to leave their dog mess on

the ground - maybe because nobody cleaned up after a sheep, horses,

or cattle. It is a problem that this man has

experience on his land near Glasgow. It is a popular location for a dog

walkers. We are very close to Glasgow. We are 10 miles from

Stockholm street. This is a sight of scientific interest. This is the

core path that links at village to that country park. It is a popular

way to walk. The problem we have is that some dog walkers do not have

their dogs under control. They do not meet the attention to the

requirements to clean up after their dogs. Is it individuals to

have walking dogs? We have professional dog walkers. Become

with five or six dogs. They let them out to have around. Anybody

with the best will in the world cannot properly keep half a dozen

dogs under control. They cannot clean up after them. It is not just

an inconvenience that so many dog walkers fail to clean up. There is

somebody there with a black dog running about. That could have

devastating effects on cattle. And on the livelihood of farmers.

very serious and stop in 2010 there were eight aborted foetuses out

here on the ground. There was an investigation. The cost was a

little-known parasite present in dog faeces called Neospora caninum.

Neospora caninum is a parasite. It is a tiny organism. If dogs get

infected in their PCs the can shed the next stage of the parasite. If

cattle eat that they become infected. If they become affected

the can have an abortion. We now know that Neospora caninum is the

biggest cause of infectious abortion in cattle. That is not

just in Scotland, but the UK, and brought light. Is there treatment

for it? There is no good treatment for cattle. We are working to

develop at vaccine to protect the cattle against abortion. What

financial impact does it have on the farm? The farmer loses his

production for that here in respect of each Carew. -- in respect of

each of his cattle. There is no compensation. The problem is so

great that the National Farmers' Union decided something had to be

done to educate the public. Nigel Miller is also a bet. He knows all

about Neospora caninum. -- and Brecht. Fertility in cattle is a

key issue for us. Our best- performing herds produce 95

cassette of 100 cows. Other herds produce 87 %. That can be due to

some factors such as abortion. The problem occurs in cows that have

never come across this parasite before. The suddenly get the

infection probably through grazing contaminated pasture. The natural

thing is to pick it up to protect children and the public. What we

are asking in enclosed fields is keep doing that. Just pick up

We are going to put up some notices that are going to advise, because

if people are going to have the benefit of information, they will

react to that and respond to that If you have a comment about

anything you see on the programme, or have a wonderful story to share

with us? In El us. The weather here is absolutely freezing, but what

about the prospects for this Good evening. It is set to turn a

little bit milder this weekend, but there will be cold weather

returning this week. -- next week. We have a yellow weather warning

for ice on untreated roads and services. But he is what is what --

he is what is happening tonight. The rain is being coupled with

milder air, and in southern Scotland, the rain will already be

affecting some parts. It will clear into the North Sea, but come

Saturday afternoon, we will still have misty and murky conditions.

Drizzle here also. We should see some brightness coming through. We

will be holding on to some strong westerly winds. Bits and pieces of

drizzle for the Western Highlands too. Able brighten up across the

Western Isles, but temperatures of nine or ten Celsius, an awful lot

milder. If you are thinking of heading to the hills tomorrow,

Eastern ranges should fare better. The Perthshire hills will maybe see

some sleep showers and also at the Cairngorms. Temperatures are above

freezing, but there will be a wind- chill factor. Fairly extensive coal

fog as well, and gale-force westerly winds, with a notable

chill factor. The winds will feature for anyone who is thinking

of going skiing this weekend. All centres appear to be open. Another

area of winds heading southward. Temperatures about four or five

Celsius. A change coming our way once again on Sunday. The weather

fronts will move away nicely, allowing North Lee winds to come in.

A lot of dry out colder weather. A fresh strong westerly wind. A

beginning -- the beginning of the working week, the will -- wintry

showers will come in. Sunny weather across western, central and

southern parts. But still on the cold side. Could the winds will the

into the north-east. There will be some snow showers in eastern

Scotland on Tuesday. You do not have to go too far inland to get

some snow showers. It will stay on the cold side. Wensley -- Wednesday

is looking very similar. A lot of dry, bright weather and it will be

In the last three years, the number of craft brewers has jumped by 50 %.

L is a growth industry, and a lot of them are in rural locations. But

The brewery's motto is save the planet, drink organic. It started

about 14 or 15 years ago, and I wanted to make a beer brand that

was organic, and because of the area we are in, it has been well

known for growing quality malted barley. There were a few Puris in

the area up until 100 years ago, but they stopped producing, and it

up at the time was right to start another one again. To begin with,

David had to buy in the Bali, but then they managed to buy at 120

acres surrounding the brewery. -- of the barley. We make beer out of

the barley, and to be copied the product to our stock. They

fertilise the ground to make more Bali. We have a source of water

here. The hops are the only thing that we have to go too far afield

for, and we get that from various I cannot wait to support the

This is all from the process? the draught from the mash Tun, with

a bit of barley that we have grown here. In it all goes to few beasts?

Yes. Occasionally, we will composted when we have too much of

it, and we will spread it on the land. It has a lot of nutrients in

it. She's enjoying it! Sheet is eating it straight from the

trailer! I like my beer just as We are going to have some Read It

That is very nice. The is a balance between malt and hops. Very nice.

Next week, I am on the Isle of Arran to try some hopped beer

cocktails. Can't wait! I love my With the average age of Scottish

farmers in their mid-50s, many are turning their thoughts to their son

or daughter to inherit the business, but many are burying their heads in

the sand and ignoring the issue. We It is a tricky subject that no one

wants to mention. You think it is not going to happen, or it is to

find the future to bother about any keeping it off. They could be one

of the most important conversations you have in your lifetime. I am

talking about an issue that many farmers do not want to discuss.

It is about how the farm passes down the generations. It is how it

moves down to the kids. Farms are businesses. That adds an element of

complexity to it, so it is about how you get what you have today

into the hands of the next generation, and indeed way that you

want it to get there. Recently church has shown that half of all

UK farmers have no succession plans in place. -- recent research.

Planning for the next generation can lead to a big family format --

fall-out and legal situations. Scotland, you have one of two

situations. Option one is that she draw up a will and make a plan, and

make it the way you wanted to pull stop option two is letting the

legal system do it for you. You need to front up to these things,

and the far greater playing is the uncertainty and the potential mess.

Go for some reason, the father did not make a will, and on his death,

the farm ended up passing down to the siblings, and the farm was sold,

because there was no way that the favourite son was able to afford to

buy out his siblings. There are plenty of cases where the father

and grandfather owned the chequebook, causing problems for

the children and the retiring generation. But there are a few

people who are more forward- thinking. John Sinclair comes from

a long line of farmers. His father make -- made plans early on, and

John plans to do the same for his children. I was quite lucky when I

left school. I decided that agriculture was for me. Mum and dad

sat me down, and he said -- they said, look, that is great. The

plans up when by it reached 60, and myself 30, I would be getting the

chequebook, basically. The running of the business. I have always been

grateful that my father lay my cards on the table. The have had a

good succession story. It says -- is that something that is reflected

among the farmers they you know? know people whose sons to be

getting involved in the business, and the grandfather is still

writing the cheques, which I think is terrible. He had two children,

Sophie and George. George has been a very similar to what I was, which

is very focused on working on the farm at any -- and any

opportunities outside. Sophie has... It is early days. A caddie made any

formal plans? Know, but -- no, but I it will be sitting down in the

same way when my father -- as my Kenny see yourself following in

your dad's footsteps? Yes, I am quite keen on that. Has your dad

spoken to you about it? Yes, we have had some brief conversations.

Nothing very big jet. -- yet. the decisions are in your hands, it

is your decision on how a NICE to pass down to the next generation.

You need to be upfront put your families. Yes, there will be

difficult conversations about the kitchen table when that is going on,

but hopefully, you can settle it down, and that is the best solution.

It may be difficult to deal with, and are often very emotional, but

mentioning the unmentionable can avoid bitter family disputes, and

secure the future of farming Sarah, and the difficult issue of

succession. There is just time to tell you what is going to happen on

the next episode. The achievements of the little-known Aberdeenshire

round to it. Some time on the 4th day, he made his trek to the

Himalayas. He went every year, and he went on massive exhibition --

expeditions, and achieved a much. Patrick takes us down to the woods

one last time. A Christmas tree would not be complete without the a

colleague. If you cut the whole tree down, it is said it will bring