Episode 3 Landward

Hello and a very warm welcome to Landward your weekly window on the

working world of the Scottish countryside. Sarah will look at

what the future holds for the Scottish pig industry, first here's

what else is coming up on the programme: We meet the Green Action

Angels. There is nothing really much out there for me but this has

totally changed my life. It's great. Harbour seals take their place on

the list of the top five iconic species for the year of national

Scotland. They'll come to this area because it's sheltered. It's too

shallow for the orca to come in here. We mark 175 years since the

birth of the great Scottish naturalist John Muir. John Muir is

one of the founders of world conservation and certainly as far

as the Americans are concerned he's the father of their National Park

system. The Scottish pig industry has been

up against it these past few years. High welfare standards has meant

big investment plus the ongoing pressure of expensive feed. Add to

that the recent closure of Scotland's biggest processor.

Sarah's been to gauge how the pig industry in this country is trying

to fight back. In the past decade, the number of

breeding sows kept in Scotland has fallen from 75,000 to just 35,000.

Then in February, another major blow hit the industry with the

closure of the country's largest pig processing site. Perhaps more

than any other sector of Scottish farming, the pig industry has been

beset by a long list of problems which have called into question

whether or not it will survive. In the last two or three years, as

I'm sure you're aware, the price of cereals has risen dramatically.

Three years ago it would have been �250 a time, this year it's �450.

Feed is 65% of the cost of finishing pigs. When that rises by

such an amount it has a big impact on the profitability of our pig

enterprise. The lack of profitibility has made it

challenging for producers to carry on. We have lost members during

that time. Roderick is taking a progressive approach on his farm.

He runs a 350-sow indoor breeding and finishing herd in Aberdeenshire

and is taking every step possible to ensure his business is

profitible. Today's pig farming requires a huge amount of

investment. People haven't had the confidence to make that investment,

therefore we've landed with units that are not efficient enough. I've

made the decision to invest. We had a lot of old buildings that were

inefficient and tired. Through help from the Scottish Government, which

has been very supportive to the independent stri, I've put up new

buildings which are more efficient. How do you keep feed costs down?

grow barley, wheat and oil seed rape and we feed all three to the

pigs. We have to mill that and it's fed through the wet feed system to

the pigs. There's a number of businesses in Scotland that are

home mixing, feeding their own grain, using the slurry from the

pig unit to grow the grain that they feed to the pigs. That seems

like a very robust business model. It seems to work. Are you self-

sufficient? Do you manage to grow all your own feed on the farm?

not quite self-sufficient, but I am heading towards that and it all

helps to give stability and robustness to the business.

Another big blow to the industry came in February this year with the

closure of Scotland's largest pig processor. They processed 8,000

pigs a week, which was 75% of the total pig kill in Scotland. What's

happened since the closure of the plant? We now have a facility

opening up at breekin operated by Tulip. It's killing approximately

4,000 pigs a week. We have several abattoirs in the Highlands and

elsewhere that will take up to 500 pigs a week that. Has been a help.

Unfortunately those pigs are cut into primals, only four or five

parts and they are shipped to England to be further processed for

supermarkets. That mean that's we don't use the specially selected

mark backed by the SSPCA in Scotland. Does that end up on

Scottish shelves? Some of it does, whether it's marketed as produce of

Scotland, that's a challenge. That's why we immediate more work

to get that Scottish label back on again. The future of the industry,

how optimistic are you about that? We have a great story to tell out.

There Scottish pigs, a lot of us are like myself, family farms. We

have that great provenance about it. If it's Scottish pork, it comes

from Scottish farms. That may encourage more young farmers to

come into our industry and maybe we can see it rising again. I believe

that there's a good future for pig farming. There's a superbunch of

guys in the industry looking forward and making the investment

that's necessary. The Scottish pig industry has been

through some tough times but those who remain see it changing for the

better. The challenge is to restore confidence, encourage grol and

investment and ensure -- growth and investment and ensure the Scottish

herd survives. In the year of natural Scotland,

Scottish natural heritage are promoting our top five iconic

species. This week, Ewan goes in search of the harbour seal.

Scotland is justly famous for its wild places, thousands of acres of

mountains, moorland and forests are home to many rare and interesting

creatures. Over the last two weeks, I've seen two of Scotland's big

five - the red deer and the red squirrel. This week, we're on the

Isle of Skye where we're hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive

silky. During the summer months the castle offers boat trips to view

the local seal collie. David Clarke is my boatman today. It's very

important for seals to spend time on land, hauling out is the term.

These are common seals. They come into this area because it's

sheltered and it's too shallow for their main predator, the orca, to

come in here. They can come in here, haul out, they will mate in here.

They'll give birth to their young in here knowing they're perfectly

safe from predators. The inquiztive nature and natural grace of the

harbour seal make them incredibly popular with ecotourists. But they

can also come into conflict with huemans and with numbers declining

around the Scottish coast, the seals are a protected species.

think it's 250, 300 seals here. It's a big population. The loch

itself is designated as a conservation area to protect the

habitat for seals. These seals can be covering distances of 50

kilometres away from here to feed. Research found a common seal can do

100 kilometres in a day. They can hold their breath for 25 minutes.

They can dive to depths of 250 metres. The way their body works

when under water is something that's quite amazing. When you get

up close, you can really see the human quality of the eyes and it's

that that's given rise to legend of the silky, when it comes ashore,

sheds its skin and marries a local before returning to the sea.

Do you think it deserves to be on the big five list? Definitely.

They've been here for many, many thousands of years. They belong

here and they're part of our landscape. Yeah, definitely. Over

the last three weeks, I've seen some of the best wildlife that

Scotland has to offer, but what have you managed to see? We asked

to you send in your own wildlife Some fantastic shots there. Next

week we are show casing more of your wildlife photographs. Keep

sending them in. You get more details on our website,

bbc.co.uk/Landward. Still to come - the life of

Scottish-born naturalist, John Muir. He's a huge influence across the

world. A lot of people have taken inspiration for what he stood for

and his messages. We meet the Dunbar pattissier with the

Michelin-star training. I was fortunate enough to win paste riff

chef of the year for Scotland. pastry chef of the year for

Scotland. The rate of youth unemployment in Scotland is 18.6%

compared to a national average of just under 8%. There are many

initiatives trying to get young people into jobs. Sarah went to

Falkirk to look at one especially aimed at young women. It's the

Green Action Angels. MUSIC: Theme to Charlie's changels.

-- angels. In the 1970s Charlie's angels

fought bad guys while clad in revealing outfits. These angels are

doing battle with tree branches in high vis. But at the end of the day,

the real target is the jobs market. OK, guys, I'm coming in to help.

Green Action Angels is one of a series of youth employment

initiatives funded by the Forestry Commission. The angels scheme is

run in association with the Scottish waterways trust at the

Falkirk wheel and is open to ladies aged from 16 to 25. First question

asked if we would like to run a project specifically for young

women. With the aim of getting more interest on the part of young women

in outdoor occupations. A lot of the young women that we're working

with are some of the hardest to reach. They're the furthest from

the employment market. We're not only teaching them concrete skills

for occupations that might be in the outdoors. That is the ideal. We

are teaching them softer skills about communicating, working

together about being able to make some decisions on their ob. -- own.

We're doing confidence building and self-esteem building as well.

you pass them to somebody else, pass them by the handles. What do

you enjoy about the project? What do you enjoy the most? I like

moving and doing stuff. I like it that much I come two days a week.

Green Action Angels is just one of a number of schemes the Forestry

Commission funds. For many years the Forestry Commission was really

about the economic side of thing. Now we're into the social aspect of

sustainable forestry, everything to do with people,if you like. We're

going into year three of the programme. We're finding from some

of the early training exercises that we've had around about half of

the young people go towards a positive destination, either a job

or further education or training. So we think that's not a bad

success rate. What is this going to be for? It's a hedge trying to keep

people coming on the trail, to keep them on the path not to venture off

it. After volume unteerg on other projects Lindsay is now a mentor on

the angels scheme. I was at the Jobcentre one day. I was trying to

find work. I seen the news letter lying on the table. So I thought

well, that sounds quite good. I'll phone this guy. I phoned him and it

changed my life pretty much. I was, I was diagnosed with narcolepsy

when I was 17. I thought that there's nothing much out there for

me. But this has totally changed my life. It's great. As well as

learning basic forestry skills, trained herbalist Anna is teaching

the girls how to make use of forest plants. We're going to use the

chick weed oil that we made to make a lip balm.

Seeing some of these young women from the beginning being shy and

reticent, some of them are coming forward and they're tackling

activities and some of the tafbgdz that we're giving them with much

more confidence -- tasks. They're more willing to work together. Can

you see that, the group beginning to bond.

The ability to make herbal lip balm won't guarantee a job in the tough

market these young ladies are facing, but the team work and

communication skills they learn in the process certainly should help.

In the end Charlie's Angels always got their man, hopefully,

eventually, these angels will get the job of their dreams.

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

or have a wonderful story to chair with us, drop us an e-mail. Now,

here in Aberdare, it's a beautiful day, but I still think it's a bit

fresh for April. What about the prospects for this weekend and

beyond? Here's Judith Ralston with beyond? Here's Judith Ralston with

the weather forecost. Good evening. We are starting with

high pressure dominating the weather this evening tonight and

tomorrow morning as well. This weather front is waiting in the

Atlantic. It's rain bearing as well. And these tightening isobars mean

windy conditions too. It's a dry and bright start tomorrow. Lovely

spells of sunshine from first light for most of the country as well.

Clouds tend toing crease a wee bit across more inland areas during the

morning, but not spoiling the day. A lot of dry weather across

southern Scotland in particular and eastern Scotland. Good spells of

sunshine continuing for much of the day. Highs of 13 Celsius in the

south-east, possibly 14 up towards the Murray area. Cloud increases in

the North West Highlands. The first signs of that rain into the Western

Isles during the course of the afternoon. Should stay largely

bright for the Northern Isles as well but cooler than we'll see

elsewhere. If you're thinking of heading to the hills tomorrow

eastern ranges look like staying dry, bright, good spells of

sunshine. Those winds are starting to pick up through the day with

gales at top coupled with low temperatures, there will be a

severe wind chill factor. Visibility will be good. The border

hills faring slightly better. Western ranges more in the way of

cloud. Outbreaks of rain possibly sleet and snow over the tops as

well through the day. Very windy indeed with gales or severe gale-

force winds over the tops as well. It will be bitterly cold. Seems to

be a good deal of snow cover on the runs at the moment. It will be

windy tomorrow. Check directly with the ski centres if you're thinking

of skiing or snowboarding during the weekend. As far as the rest of

Saturday is concerned, it's windy with a strong south-westerly wind

developing through the day, reaching gale-force across the

outer Hebrides and the Northern Isles. That extends across the

country tomorrow night. It will be heavy and persistent, particularly

across more western areas. It will be a windy night as well. Overnight

lows of four or five Celsius. The weather front responsible for all

that rain does eventually pull away on Sunday. Then a westerly wind

bringing showers mainly across western Scotland. Wet and windy

start to Sunday but an improving day on the whole. The rain pulls

away. Showers develop especially across the west. For Monday,

another weather front approaches bringing outbreaks of rain. It will

be a dry start across eastern Scotland. Rain in the west will

transfer across eastern areas. Highs of ten or 11 Celsius. It will

be quite a breezey day as well. The south-westerly winds are staying

with us for much of the week. As far as Tuesday is concerned, a

quieter day. Looks like being predominantly dry, even spells of

sunshine across the country. Another weather front approaching

on Wednesday, more wet and windy on Wednesday, more wet and windy

weather. Over the past couple of weeks, Nick

has met an artisan baker of game pies and a man passionate about

bread without additives. In the final part of his series, he meets

a pa SIS yay who has trained with - - pattissier who has trained with

some of the world's best chefs. For Scotland's High Street bakers

times are tough as production costs rise and supermarkets out compete

on price. Where most towns and villages once had a local

independent bakery, nowadays they're becoming something of a

rarity. But here in Dunbar, they've reversed the trend with the opening

of a brand new community High Street bakery. I've come to meet

the head baker, who's putting some very fancy pattissier back on the

So, Ross, what are you making here? We're going to make a little cake,

a chocolate and hazelnut one today. Chocolate mousse and you have got a

meringue... Yes a flourless sponge. And a chocolate biscuit. This one

is an onglaise emulsified with chocolate. The bakery started with

the community as a whole missing their family bakery that was here

initially. The bakery had to close. Then a group of people got together

and started raising money and we've got 611 shareholders. That's all

local people, a community, that have invested a minimum of �20.

Ross, tell me about yourself and how you come to be here. I've grown

up in baking. My grandfather was a baker. He had a traditional

Scottish bakery. My uncle, then my sister and my self-. It's in the

blood. I went to work with Albert Rioux. I won pastry chef of the

year for Scotland in 2011. Stkpwhri remember that actually. -- I

remember that actually. You're going to finish this off. We're

going to put, I made a chocolate decoration earlier. I tend to

decorate my cakes with a French macaroon. And there's some gold

leaf just to add the final detail to the cake. Fantastic. I mean that

is a sensational piece of pattissier. To find it in the

Scottish High Street is incredible. I wish you every success for the

future. Thanks for visiting. Making these three films has been a

really uplifting experience for me. I've found fantastic pies made with

great ingredients. Some of the best bread I've ever tasted never mind

in France or in Italy, but here in Scotland, made using Scottish flour.

And pattissier you would normally only find in Paris. There's an

explosion in talent in Scotland in baking at the moment. It's up to us

to support these artisan bakers. This Sunday marks the 175th

anniversary of the birth of Scottish-born naturalist John Muir.

Muir's life work concentrated on preserving wild lands in America,

most notably what's now known as Yosemite National Park. For the

first time, his homeland is celebrating his contribution as the

father of national parks with a This is Yosemite National Park in

California, set in 1200 square miles of pristine land, the park is

home to some of the most dramatic seenery -- scenery in the world.

The creation of Yosemite National Park and the whole wilderness

movement that followed was in part down to the vision of the

naturalist John Muir, who's incredibly well known in the United

States of America, but who was actually born right here in Dunbar.

John Muir discovered his love of nature here. The rock pools, as a

boy he was taken by his grandfather learning about the wildlife that

was there. When John Muir was 11 years old his family left Dunbar

and emigrated to Wisconsin. It was in the USA he would later become

famous as a protector of wild places and a creator of national

parks. In California in the late 1800s he was vitriolic about the

deforestation that was happening, the great swathes of land being

lost to exploitation. It's survived for centuries under the Native

Americans living there and within a century of the Europeans arriving

it was devastated. Muir had the gift of the gab,if you like.

could talk to anybody and everybody and enthusiastically. By 1870, his

writings were written probably as man whyy as a million Americans.

John Muir's writings made him a household name in the United States.

It waents long before he had the ear of the President himself. Muir

spent three days camping with thee dor ruesvelts where they agreed a

template for the protection of the wildlife. Rues velt launched a

life-long conservation campaign that would preserve more than 230

acres of land. The idea where places could go -- could be set

aside so experience nature soon went around the world. John Muir is

one of the founders of world conservation and certainly as far

as the Americans are concerned, he's the father of their National

Park system. The American National Park system is one of the models

for other countries. John Muir has been a huge influence across the

world. A lot of people have taken inspiration for what he stood for.

He loved wild places. He understood nature. He wanted people to

experience nature, see it up close. John Muir may have been born 175

years ago, but his message is still as relevant today as it was at the

end of the 19th century. There's still exploitation of land, still

deforestation happening, people not really taking as much care of

nature and the natural world as it should be and maybe not

understanding that we are part of the natural world. John Muir was

very good at understanding that we were a part of nature, that we

couldn't stand separately from it or have dominion over it. He was

very much, you know, we're all connected, part of the same living,

breathing planet that we're on. This Sunday is the first ever John

Muir day, which will celebrate the life of this renowned naturalist

and finally give him the recognition that he deserves in the

land of his birth. The more that people start reading

his words and understanding what he was about, I hope they would

understand what relevance he still has to the conservation of our land

escapes in Scotland and what we can do to improve and restore them.

We're beginning to realise that the man that founded world conservation,

that's the father of the American national parks, that is the person

that politicians turned to when they're looking for the sound bite

about the environment, he was a John Muir, the man we have to thank

for the conservation of some of our most beautiful wild places. Now

here's what we have to look forward to next week: We'll be in Assent to

mark the 20th anniversary of the first community land buyout.

began as being an almost impossible prospect that we would take

possession of this estate upon which our forefathers lived and

worked. Sarah explores the landscape of one of Scotland's most

stunning areas. It's a landscape that noticeably lacks trees, with

just a few remnants of ancient woodland dotted across this vast

area. And Ewan searches for one of our wildlife icons, the golden

eagle. If you have a golden eagle in your site, they're a top

predator. It's a sign that everything below is well. It's a