0:00:10 > 0:00:13In April 1976, with little fanfare,
0:00:13 > 0:00:17a series called Landward snuck into the schedule.
0:00:20 > 0:00:25Flick through this edition of the Radio Times, April 1976,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29the one with the cast of Angels on the front, and you'll find the
0:00:29 > 0:00:33first-ever listing for the programme.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39Other titles, including Angels and Pebble Mill, have come and gone.
0:00:39 > 0:00:45But Landward has thrived and, for more than half of its existence,
0:00:45 > 0:00:47I've worked on it.
0:00:47 > 0:00:52I began in the '90s when my Landy was already 30 years old,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54at least the original bits were.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01Over the last 40 years, we've met the characters,
0:01:01 > 0:01:05explored the issues and travelled across the country to bring you,
0:01:05 > 0:01:10the viewer, a unique insight into rural Scotland.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14I'm going to delve into Landward's archive and crisscross our beautiful
0:01:14 > 0:01:17landscape in my beloved Land Rover
0:01:17 > 0:01:22to uncover the story of how our countryside has changed in the last four decades.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26VARIOUS VERSIONS OF LANDWARD THEME TUNE PLAY
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Back in 1991,
0:01:51 > 0:01:56I filmed my first-ever feature for Landward close to home in rural
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Aberdeenshire and I haven't seen it since.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03Many farmers are taking conservation increasingly seriously these days,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07but perhaps none quite as seriously as John Strachan here at Tulloch
0:02:07 > 0:02:08in Aberdeenshire.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10When John arrived 27 years ago,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13the farm was a typical north-east farm.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16380 acres, part arable, part pasture.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20There were a few trees and even fewer hedges, but now a series
0:02:20 > 0:02:23of 14 ponds stretches across the entire farm.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27A lot has changed. So young, so innocent.
0:02:27 > 0:02:28Hedges are being replanted
0:02:28 > 0:02:31and a series of trees are rapidly becoming established.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34It looks flawless there. It took about an hour and a half
0:02:34 > 0:02:37to record that because I kept on fluffing the lines.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42And just talking to a camera - here we are 25 years later -
0:02:42 > 0:02:44that feels really natural now.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47At that time, talking to an inanimate object
0:02:47 > 0:02:48I thought was ludicrous.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52It's still ludicrous.
0:02:54 > 0:03:00I've changed a lot since those early days and so has the patch that I report on.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04'And so, a million and more square miles of Atlantic waste...'
0:03:04 > 0:03:06When Landward was first broadcast,
0:03:06 > 0:03:11the Second World War still cast a shadow over attitudes to farming and
0:03:11 > 0:03:12the countryside.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16Memories of food shortages and rationing were still vivid for many.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19For Europe's politicians, the objective was clear.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27The focus of the agricultural policy at the time was absolute.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Food security had top priority.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Britain had just joined the European Community, and with it,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37the Common Agricultural Policy which subsidised farmers
0:03:37 > 0:03:40to ensure a plentiful supply of food.
0:03:42 > 0:03:48As we'll see, farmers responded to that call and that quest for
0:03:48 > 0:03:50increased productivity is at the very heart
0:03:50 > 0:03:52of how the story has unfolded.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59For a start, everything seems to have got a whole lot bigger.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Farms, machinery,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05and even our cattle.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12In the 1940s, our native cattle breeds were tiny, just waist high.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Farmers bred small bulls for the export market because selling abroad
0:04:18 > 0:04:20could be like winning the lottery.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28'World record prices for every breed of cattle were knocked to smithereens
0:04:28 > 0:04:33'at Perth's shorthorn show when an American cattleman paid £15,225 for
0:04:33 > 0:04:36'champion bull, Pittodrie Upright.'
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Despite being upright, Pittodrie certainly wasn't tall.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43American buyers liked small bulls who put on fat quickly
0:04:43 > 0:04:46because they in turn could breed cattle that could
0:04:46 > 0:04:49do well on the poor grazing typical on ranches.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52'Away overseas goes another product of the British Isles in this
0:04:52 > 0:04:54'age of export.'
0:05:01 > 0:05:03But by the '60s,
0:05:03 > 0:05:07cattle breeders were turning their attention to the home market.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10To start my journey,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14I've come to the Borders and I'm heading for a farm near Kelso
0:05:14 > 0:05:16to meet one of those breeders.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19'John Jeffrey! Jeffrey is there!'
0:05:19 > 0:05:21Former rugby star John Jeffrey
0:05:21 > 0:05:24always split his time between farming and sport.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27'Scoring his ninth try for Scotland...'
0:05:30 > 0:05:31Come on.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35At his farm near Kelso, he is feeding his Charolais cows.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Looking on is John's father, James.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Going to get cereal and then silage.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51James was one of the first farmers to bring this large French breed to Scotland.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55He recognised that bigger could be better.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Now THAT is a bull.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59What have we got there?
0:05:59 > 0:06:01That's Kersknowe Jason.
0:06:01 > 0:06:02That bull is 18 months old.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06And that's why we've got the Charolais
0:06:06 > 0:06:08back into this country again.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09He's got size, he's got scale,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12he's got shape and at the age of 18 months, he's ready to go and work.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17In the late '60s, along with a handful of other farmers,
0:06:17 > 0:06:22James imported a number of the big, lean Charolais cattle from France.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Some of his neighbours, though, weren't that keen on the big beasts
0:06:27 > 0:06:29that dwarfed their own cattle.
0:06:29 > 0:06:36Well, this was quite a hotbed for the native breeds and I nearly got lynched.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38You were in disgrace, were you?
0:06:38 > 0:06:41There were people coming around to look at them and going, "Wow!"
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Yes, they did.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48And then, of course, we were successful in selling a bull
0:06:48 > 0:06:51- to the Scottish Milk Marketing Board.- How much did you get?
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Got 10,000 for him.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58£10,000 was a fantastic price at the time.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05Adverts for Kersknowe Festival boasted that he was over a tonne
0:07:05 > 0:07:09at just two years old and it was that ability to gain weight quickly
0:07:09 > 0:07:11that made the Charolais top sellers.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16And when John ventured across the Channel himself,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18he realised the breed's full potential.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22It probably wasn't until I went to the Paris show on a trip with the
0:07:22 > 0:07:26agricultural college that I suddenly saw them in amongst all these bottles of wine
0:07:26 > 0:07:29that were on show at the Paris show.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32I suddenly saw these colossal beasts, the Charolais.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34"Goodness me, look at the size of these!"
0:07:34 > 0:07:36Compared to the Charolais that we had brought in,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38that Father had brought in.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40I thought, surely if we are in the business of
0:07:40 > 0:07:43producing as much beef as possible,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45surely this is a vehicle that can do it
0:07:45 > 0:07:46and, ultimately, that's what we did.
0:07:46 > 0:07:52We produced more kilos per day and produced it at an earlier age.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54Yes, it has worked.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57It goes back to seeing these monsters of beasts.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00That was a defining moment for me, the Paris show thing.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02God, look at these things...
0:08:02 > 0:08:05Crunch question. How much is Jason going to make at the bull sales?
0:08:05 > 0:08:08You're always hoping that you're going to be near the top.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11It's going to be 10,000 guineas anyway, isn't it?
0:08:11 > 0:08:14That would be all right, thank you.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17We'll take that now, thank you.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Was that a bid? Where's my chequebook?!
0:08:22 > 0:08:24What Jason doesn't know
0:08:24 > 0:08:28is that his ancestors revolutionised the Scottish beef industry.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31To take on the likes of the Charolais,
0:08:31 > 0:08:35natives such as the Aberdeen Angus have been selectively bred to get
0:08:35 > 0:08:37bigger and bigger.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42This Angus bull at the Royal Highland Show in 2015
0:08:42 > 0:08:44is enormous compared to his forefathers
0:08:44 > 0:08:47at the Perth sale in 1947.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50He's the handsome product of a competitive market.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56And it's not just beef farmers who have had to change what they do.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58In the last four decades,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02all sectors of farming have had to adapt to globalisation
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and increasingly volatile trading conditions.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Dairy is one striking example of this.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18I'm travelling to the south-west to pick up on a story that has been
0:09:18 > 0:09:20rattling around for many years.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28In 1976, most farmers supplied local dairies
0:09:28 > 0:09:31that, in turn, delivered to folk's doorsteps.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38Farmers were paid a price guaranteed by milk marketing boards.
0:09:39 > 0:09:45But in the early 1990s, as part of a widespread process of deregulation,
0:09:45 > 0:09:49the boards were scrapped and that left dairy farmers exposed
0:09:49 > 0:09:51to the open market.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57Since then, the industry seems to have lurched from one crisis
0:09:57 > 0:10:00to the next as Landward has recorded over the years.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05Tell you what, you want to be on our income and then you'll bloody know what we're talking about.
0:10:05 > 0:10:06Farming's seasonal, we all know that.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09The same things come round year after year
0:10:09 > 0:10:10but not this again, surely.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13But they are back and they're angrier than ever.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16We're being ripped off and we're totally cheesed off.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19We've seen the supermarkets making a bigger margin than us.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22We see the processers making a bigger margin and it's time
0:10:22 > 0:10:24somebody was looking at us.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27It is absolutely abhorrent that someone like Dairy Crest,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31whose profits are going up and up and up do not pass all of that
0:10:31 > 0:10:33back to you, the primary producer.
0:10:34 > 0:10:35And just last year,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38these farmers bought up all the milk in the supermarket
0:10:38 > 0:10:43and gave it away for free, a metaphor for their daily life.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46They said they were making a loss on every litre anyway.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Faced with the figures, most farmers have had two options.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55One, to get out of the industry altogether
0:10:55 > 0:10:59or two, to get bigger and take advantage of the economies of scale.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06And that is exactly what they did at this farm near Stranraer.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10The method of recording farm statistics
0:11:10 > 0:11:12has changed over the years
0:11:12 > 0:11:15but the figures suggest that in 1976,
0:11:15 > 0:11:18there were five times as many dairy farms as there are now
0:11:18 > 0:11:22and, on average, each farm had 80 cows.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29Today, the average is 200 and here,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31they are milking 700.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36This farm is one of the biggest of its type in Scotland.
0:11:38 > 0:11:45Using a modern rotary parlour, just two people can milk the 700 cows.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48But what is it like to work in a system like this?
0:11:48 > 0:11:53Schoolgirl Caitlin Bowen aspires to run a dairy farm in the future
0:11:53 > 0:11:56but for the moment, she works here part-time.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59We all know what we have to do so you can really master it.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01So, how long is it going to take to do 700 cows?
0:12:01 > 0:12:04In the mornings, it takes five and a half hours
0:12:04 > 0:12:07and in the evening times, it takes eight.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09- What time do you start for the morning shift?- 5am.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Because you are still at school at the moment?
0:12:12 > 0:12:14How do you make that happen?
0:12:14 > 0:12:15Well, I'll do milkings,
0:12:15 > 0:12:20I tend to do milkings at the weekend or I can do them after school
0:12:20 > 0:12:22because the after school milking starts about four
0:12:22 > 0:12:24and I'll be home at four, so I can come in,
0:12:24 > 0:12:26milk for the eight hours, go home to bed
0:12:26 > 0:12:28and then get up again for school.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31- So, why do you want to do it? - Doing my bit. Without us,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34you're not going to have your milk in the morning, so...
0:12:37 > 0:12:39Do you want to try and cup one or...?
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Yeah, but I haven't got any gloves.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43I have gloves.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Bring it round and turn your hand upside down.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48So, sitting like that.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Then you turn it... Hold on.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55Turn it this way and you usually cup with the first one there.
0:12:55 > 0:12:56OK, which one?
0:12:56 > 0:13:00- Far away.- Yep.- You're not in danger of getting kicked at this point?
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Make sure you hold that directly under the cow.
0:13:05 > 0:13:06There you are.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11- Caitlin...- That was a bit harder than what it should have been
0:13:11 > 0:13:14because she's a heifer and she's not used to the parlour.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17If that was another cow from any other pen,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19she would have stood still.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Well, that may be so,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24but I think I'll leave the other 699 to the pros.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Here, the farmer has gone for economies of scale.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35Lots of cows being fed high-energy feed producing lots of milk
0:13:35 > 0:13:38but it does require serious investment.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Rotary parlours and 700 cows
0:13:42 > 0:13:43don't come cheap.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49And while this farm carefully monitors the health of their cattle,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52not everyone approves of keeping cows
0:13:52 > 0:13:53in an intensive system like this.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59Some farmers have gone organic and get paid a premium for their milk.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05Others have chosen to make their own products like cheese and ice cream
0:14:05 > 0:14:08and sell direct.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14In many ways, those two different models almost define the changes
0:14:14 > 0:14:19that have happened in the Scottish countryside over the last 40 years.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22If you want to make a full-time living in farming,
0:14:22 > 0:14:26you've either got to get bigger and more efficient or you've got to get
0:14:26 > 0:14:27more for your produce,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30which is exactly what the man I'm going to see now
0:14:30 > 0:14:32has managed to achieve.
0:14:44 > 0:14:45Pig farmer Tom Mitchell
0:14:45 > 0:14:49was interviewed on Landward at his farm in Fife in 1991.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51It's a fairly small...
0:14:51 > 0:14:53And I've taken along the footage to show him.
0:14:55 > 0:14:56So, this is your pigs.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Oh, wow. 'Initially I think it is a fairly small asking price
0:15:02 > 0:15:04'for what is being provided.'
0:15:04 > 0:15:08Considerably less grey hair in that version of Tom Mitchell.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12- It's quite frightening, isn't it? - It's terribly frightening.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15So, who were you selling to at this point?
0:15:15 > 0:15:19We were selling through our Scotland pig producers
0:15:19 > 0:15:22to Malton Bacon Factory down in Yorkshire.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28In the late 1990s, Tom decided to change the way he did business.
0:15:28 > 0:15:35The pound was strong, making imports cheap and foreign pork flooded into Scotland.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41The British price just sank like a stone until we were getting
0:15:41 > 0:15:45about 65% of the cost of production.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48I think my bank manager described it as haemorrhaging money.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50It certainly felt like that.
0:15:52 > 0:15:57Tom decided to start butchering his pigs on the farm and sell the meat
0:15:57 > 0:16:00directly to the public at farmers' markets
0:16:00 > 0:16:02that had just begun to spring up.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09And it was a good move. The business has gone from strength to strength.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13In 1999, it employed three people including Tom
0:16:13 > 0:16:17and it now employs 16 and the work is more rewarding.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21In all the time that I've produced pigs,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24I never once had anybody compliment me on producing...
0:16:24 > 0:16:27"That was a great load of pigs that you sent down the road,"
0:16:27 > 0:16:30or "That was a good load of barley," or whatever.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33But suddenly was getting satisfied customers
0:16:33 > 0:16:34who were anxious to come back
0:16:34 > 0:16:37and buy from us again and again and again.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Does it surprise you that you've got customers? Because let's face it,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44your bacon is a lot more expensive than the supermarket.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47You can't make good quality stuff cheaply.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50It's just not possible to do that.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52It takes us quite a long time.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56It takes me the thick end of a year from the moment you breed the pig to
0:16:56 > 0:16:58the moment you've got something to sell.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01That requires to be paid for.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03I think the public get that completely.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10From Fife, I'm going across the Forth
0:17:10 > 0:17:14to somewhere they definitely do get it, the capital.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21In Edinburgh, this is where country meets city, the farmers' market.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30The first modern farmers' markets started in Perth in 1999.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33Now there are markets throughout the country.
0:17:33 > 0:17:38The ones in the smaller towns can be a bit quiet but in the cities,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41there are enough people to support multiple markets.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43I mean, this is fantastic.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47This is elements of Paris, but with a Scottish flavour.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52There's bacon, there's sausages, the smell of cooking fills the air.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54There's lots of happy faces.
0:17:54 > 0:17:55It is brilliant. And what is so good,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58there's enough people to support these markets
0:17:58 > 0:17:59that there's actually multiple ones.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01There's one beneath the castle there.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04There's also one in Stockbridge, there's one in Leith.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Sure, just pick two...
0:18:06 > 0:18:08And there's one here in the Grassmarket
0:18:08 > 0:18:12where, hundreds of years ago, drovers came to sell their cattle.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18The farmers' market movement has allowed at least a few farmers
0:18:18 > 0:18:23to take more control of the price they get paid for their produce.
0:18:23 > 0:18:24And you can get things here
0:18:24 > 0:18:27that you wouldn't find in your average supermarket.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Like buffalo meat.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33There's over 100 of these amazingly powerful beasts here.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38Buffalo farming is just one of the unusual ventures we featured
0:18:38 > 0:18:39over the years.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43If it was quirky or even a little bit crazy,
0:18:43 > 0:18:45we just had to cover it.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49This is a field of garlic and for the last few years,
0:18:49 > 0:18:55there's been a quiet revolution going on here in the fields of Nairnshire.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00Struthio camelus - or to you and me, some damn big ostriches.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07What's happening in this old stable block is a livestock venture that no
0:19:07 > 0:19:09other Scottish farmer has tackled.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Snails, a venture with a continental flavour.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Scottish farmers have certainly got creative
0:19:18 > 0:19:20in their quest to make an extra pound or two.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27But for most, the reality has meant growing the same traditional crops
0:19:27 > 0:19:30but in much bigger fields and much more efficiently.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34Take wheat, for example.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36In the last 40 years,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40the amount farmers can grow per hectare has roughly doubled.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47So how has that incredible increase been achieved?
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Well, the vital element has been improvements
0:19:49 > 0:19:51in plant breeding techniques.
0:19:54 > 0:19:55In recent decades,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59scientists' understanding of the genetics of wheat and barley
0:19:59 > 0:20:01has leapt forward.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05That knowledge has enabled them to breed new varieties
0:20:05 > 0:20:07with specific traits far more quickly.
0:20:07 > 0:20:13For example, developing varieties of barley that are better at fighting off disease.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17We're not talking about genetic modification here,
0:20:17 > 0:20:19the so-called "monster food".
0:20:19 > 0:20:22What we are talking about is scientists taking a quicker,
0:20:22 > 0:20:23more precise approach
0:20:23 > 0:20:28to something that farmers have done for hundreds of generations.
0:20:28 > 0:20:29Selective breeding.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38Knowledge of how to use agrichemicals has also improved.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42The high cost of pesticides and fertiliser have encouraged farmers
0:20:42 > 0:20:46to find more targeted and more efficient ways of using them.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53But I think what has changed folk's everyday experience of farming most
0:20:53 > 0:20:56are advances in machinery and technology.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04Jobs that once took dozens of people and were hugely labour-intensive
0:21:05 > 0:21:07can now be done with a couple of machines
0:21:07 > 0:21:09and less than half a dozen bodies.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18The workhorse of the countryside has changed massively, too.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22Take a look at this.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26This is the Massey Ferguson 595, the Mark II.
0:21:26 > 0:21:27Back in '76,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30this was a state-of-the-art tractor
0:21:30 > 0:21:32and any tractor driver or farmer
0:21:32 > 0:21:34would have been delighted to own this.
0:21:34 > 0:21:40It would have set you back around £7,000, top speed about 30km/h,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43just slightly faster than my Land Rover.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45At the time, it could lift two tonnes
0:21:45 > 0:21:47and that was a lot for a tractor
0:21:47 > 0:21:51but the thing that was revolutionary about this is the cab.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54The government at that time were taking tractor driver safety
0:21:54 > 0:21:55really seriously.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58This is the first time the cab came with the tractor.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01Up until then, you bought them separately and put them together.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05But what this did, it meant dust couldn't get into the lungs and it
0:22:05 > 0:22:09protected the hearing of the tractor driver and it just put comfort
0:22:09 > 0:22:12right at the centre of that job and if you go inside,
0:22:14 > 0:22:17well, it has got everything a tractor driver would need.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19You've got a radio and you've got a heater
0:22:19 > 0:22:21and that is about it.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Even the heater at that time was an optional extra.
0:22:25 > 0:22:26However...
0:22:27 > 0:22:31this, the Massey Ferguson 7718,
0:22:31 > 0:22:38180 hp, £70,000, and this can lift ten tonnes,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41a top speed of 50km/h.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46This is state-of-the-art stuff today.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48And it is an absolute joy.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52GPS technology, air conditioning, computing,
0:22:52 > 0:22:57stereo system and somewhere in there, there might even be a fridge,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00but today's tractor driver needs all of that.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04They might be spending 12, 13, 16 hours a day in the field
0:23:04 > 0:23:10and for that...you need comfort.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18The introduction of massive machinery working huge fields
0:23:18 > 0:23:21has made arable farming very efficient.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24It's also become a very solitary business.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29The number of people employed on Scottish farms
0:23:29 > 0:23:32has dropped by 40% in 40 years
0:23:32 > 0:23:36and the jobs are being replaced by things like these.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41I find it desperately sad,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44but I know that relentless drive for efficiency
0:23:44 > 0:23:47has made food cheaper for consumers.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51At the end of the '50s, food was a third of household expenditure.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53By the '70s, it was a quarter
0:23:53 > 0:23:56and these days, if you exclude eating out,
0:23:56 > 0:23:58it hovers at just over a tenth.
0:24:01 > 0:24:06One of the few sectors of farming that has remained labour-intensive
0:24:06 > 0:24:09is fruit farming but the workers and the techniques used
0:24:09 > 0:24:11have changed substantially.
0:24:14 > 0:24:20In 1977, Landward visited Angus, the hub of fruit-growing in Scotland.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30The raspberry, king of Scotland's fruit industry.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35This year, between 600 and 700 producers in the main fruit-growing
0:24:35 > 0:24:37counties of Angus and Perthshire
0:24:37 > 0:24:40picked an estimated 12,000 tonnes of raspberries,
0:24:40 > 0:24:43worth more than £3 million.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46And this entrepreneurial farmer thought that people
0:24:46 > 0:24:49might like to pay for the privilege of picking them.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53I've always been brought up with the joke that the Scots were so mean,
0:24:53 > 0:24:55you know, the music hall jokes.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58I thought they would never come and pay to pick brambles
0:24:58 > 0:24:59but that is not true.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02They come in and they swipe them all.
0:25:02 > 0:25:03I think you get satisfaction.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05You think you are getting a bargain
0:25:05 > 0:25:07when you pick your own berries, really.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10And it's much better than just going in and buying them in a shop.
0:25:10 > 0:25:11Lovely strawberries.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14This is a part of the country you get the best strawberries.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16It's very reasonable, yes. Mind you, I'm no expert -
0:25:16 > 0:25:18this is the first time I've ever picked berries.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20So, I'm no expert to judge by.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23You need to ask some of the ladies round about, I would think.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Attitudes have changed a little since then,
0:25:27 > 0:25:29but fruit farms have changed a lot.
0:25:29 > 0:25:34What is striking in hindsight is there's not a polytunnel to be seen.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Visit a modern fruit farm
0:25:40 > 0:25:44and you're confronted by absolutely acres of polythene.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Polytunnels first appeared in the early 1990s.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55A way of protecting fruit from the vagaries of the Scottish weather.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Peter Thomson started in the family fruit business here
0:26:00 > 0:26:03at Westfield Farm near Blairgowrie
0:26:03 > 0:26:06in the same year that Landward began.
0:26:06 > 0:26:07I've actually got some video of this.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09How was it being harvested at that point?
0:26:09 > 0:26:11It was all by pickers.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Pickers who pick all day.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18They get very hot under the sun and a lot of them are just tired out
0:26:18 > 0:26:19by the middle of the day.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Back then, Peter's fruit was being harvested for the canning and freezing market
0:26:25 > 0:26:29and the pickers were local folk including lots of kids.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Why did that change? What happened? Was it a change in legislation?
0:26:37 > 0:26:41It was a change in legislation and also a change...
0:26:41 > 0:26:45What finally killed off the children in the fields, I think,
0:26:45 > 0:26:47was supplying the supermarkets.
0:26:47 > 0:26:53They just won't have anything to do with anything that was child labour,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56but, back then, it wasn't really looked at as child labour,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58it was just what people did in the school holidays.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00We certainly remember
0:27:00 > 0:27:03that the children used to go out in the field
0:27:03 > 0:27:04picking with their mothers.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06And the mothers asking them to pick
0:27:06 > 0:27:08to earn the money for their school uniform.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10They were keen, because after they had done that,
0:27:10 > 0:27:11they got the money to themselves.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13One year, '79,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17it was so late that Perthshire and Kinross changed the time of school
0:27:17 > 0:27:21holidays and had an extra three days to let the children come out picking
0:27:21 > 0:27:23- in the field. - Just for that one year?
0:27:23 > 0:27:24Just that one year.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26The thought that that would never happen...
0:27:26 > 0:27:28It was impossible, but that is what happened then.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34These days, fruit farms largely employ migrant workers.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38The workforce has changed and the crops, too.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42The raspberry might have been king in '76 but in 2016,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46the late-season Scottish cherry is a more profitable crop for Peter.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51We have just about the latest cherries of anywhere in the world
0:27:51 > 0:27:53because our summers are so horrible really,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56which is also why we have to have the polytunnels.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01So, we grow later cherries than anyone else
0:28:01 > 0:28:04and so we're able to sell them.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11From the crops they grow to the machinery they use,
0:28:11 > 0:28:15so far I've seen how different sectors of farming have adapted.
0:28:17 > 0:28:22Of course, all this change has been happening within a shifting political climate.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27The High Honourable Edward Heath, Prime Minister of Britain.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33When the UK joined the European Community in 1973,
0:28:33 > 0:28:37we were also signing up to the Common Agricultural Policy.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Nowadays, it is estimated
0:28:40 > 0:28:44the policy costs each European citizen £85 per year.
0:28:44 > 0:28:5140% of the European Union's budget is spent subsidising agriculture.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54That's why the referendum
0:28:54 > 0:28:56was especially significant for farmers.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00At the moment, in return for the money,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03they have to conform to a huge number of restrictive rules,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Many farmers believe
0:29:05 > 0:29:09the Leave vote will mean the end to all that red tape.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11Others fear the result will lead to
0:29:11 > 0:29:13the loss of vital financial support.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16The coming negotiations
0:29:16 > 0:29:18will be critical for the future of agriculture.
0:29:19 > 0:29:25Whatever the outcome, rural Scotland will adapt to changing politics just as it always has.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31And the country has had relatively recent experience of that.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37In July of 1999, the Scottish Parliament opened for business.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41It shifted control of the countryside
0:29:41 > 0:29:43from Westminster to Holyrood,
0:29:43 > 0:29:45bringing policymakers much closer
0:29:45 > 0:29:48to the people who had to live with their decisions.
0:29:52 > 0:29:57Nigel Miller is the former president of the National Farmers' Union Scotland.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59- Nigel.- Good to see you.
0:30:00 > 0:30:06And he's spent many years lobbying politicians, from Brussels to Westminster and Holyrood.
0:30:06 > 0:30:07The place is almost green,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10which is not always that way at this time of year.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12So it's good news.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14Nigel, you've got some fantastic sheep
0:30:14 > 0:30:17and the most beautiful rolling countryside but
0:30:17 > 0:30:22you had quite a long part of your life heavily involved in the NFU.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25I suppose at the same time as the Scottish Parliament emerged -
0:30:25 > 0:30:29did you notice a change in... agricultural legislation, I suppose?
0:30:29 > 0:30:34Well, I think it was a dramatic difference from previous generations
0:30:34 > 0:30:38and I think the rest of the UK was a bit jealous of the access we got
0:30:38 > 0:30:41and I suppose the priority that agriculture was
0:30:41 > 0:30:44for the Scottish Parliament.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48That was over two very long-serving ministers,
0:30:48 > 0:30:50Finnie and then Richard Lochhead.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54And it built up a...maybe too close a relationship at times,
0:30:54 > 0:30:58but a relationship which actually supported the industry.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02Were you aware of agriculture becoming much more central
0:31:02 > 0:31:05in the parliamentary business?
0:31:05 > 0:31:06I think it was. I think...
0:31:06 > 0:31:08Agriculture's a bigger part of Scotland's economy
0:31:08 > 0:31:11than that of the rest of the UK.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13And I think the present Government,
0:31:13 > 0:31:17its food and drink policy is quite significant,
0:31:17 > 0:31:20and those targets of 6.5 billion in food and drink
0:31:20 > 0:31:23and five billion in exports are a real driver and
0:31:23 > 0:31:27that meant there was some real drive and innovation there.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29That's a real benefit for farmers.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37Since its inception,
0:31:37 > 0:31:41the Scottish Parliament has opened up access to the countryside,
0:31:41 > 0:31:44set aside money for community ownership
0:31:44 > 0:31:46and modernised farm tenancies.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49There has been a slow but dramatic shift
0:31:49 > 0:31:52in the politics of the landscape.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55And in 2001,
0:31:55 > 0:31:58the new Scottish Government had to deal with
0:31:58 > 0:32:00its first major rural crisis.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03Over the last 20 years on Landward,
0:32:03 > 0:32:06I've covered a massive range of stories
0:32:06 > 0:32:09but one of the most depressing,
0:32:09 > 0:32:13challenging and downright disturbing was in the south-west,
0:32:13 > 0:32:16and that's where I'm going now.
0:32:22 > 0:32:29In March 2001, foot and mouth arrived in Dumfries and Galloway.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33It's a highly infectious disease that affects sheep, pigs and cattle.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38In an attempt to control the disease,
0:32:38 > 0:32:41all the livestock on affected farms were culled
0:32:41 > 0:32:44AND the livestock on neighbouring farms.
0:32:51 > 0:32:56At the time, I also presented a programme called Frontline Scotland.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19This is quite an emotional spot for me.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23I spent a lot of time down here with Frontline Scotland in the heart of
0:33:23 > 0:33:26the foot and mouth crisis and at that time
0:33:26 > 0:33:29there was a police barrier right across this road.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33That's Robin Spencer's farm up here and he was hit by foot and mouth
0:33:33 > 0:33:37and the images of the funeral pyres
0:33:37 > 0:33:41and the stench of the smoke and the smell of burning cattle
0:33:41 > 0:33:43is a sensation I will never forget.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49It was the end of the road. You had the barrier across the road.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51- That's right.- Did you put it up or the police?
0:33:51 > 0:33:55'At the time, because of bio-security restrictions,
0:33:55 > 0:33:57'we couldn't film on Robin's farm.
0:33:57 > 0:33:59'We gave him a camera to record what happened.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04'And we could talk to him at the end of his road.'
0:34:04 > 0:34:07We'd two places confirmed next to us on Sunday
0:34:07 > 0:34:10and it's all around about us and...
0:34:10 > 0:34:14We had sort of, you know... you hope and pray but...
0:34:16 > 0:34:17..we knew it was coming.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20'This is the first time Robin's seen the footage
0:34:20 > 0:34:23'since the programme was broadcast.'
0:34:23 > 0:34:26- Does it bring back memories or is it blocked out?- It does, it does.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28I'm just swallowing there.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30It's quite surprising how it takes you back.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34We rear livestock and look after them as best we can.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36You know them individually...
0:34:36 > 0:34:40or as a group but there's always individuals and characters in them
0:34:40 > 0:34:42so you become very attached to them.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45And they're quite disturbing scenes.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48Yeah, well, that's that field there.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01But it's one of the most moving bits for me -
0:35:01 > 0:35:04I'm getting a bit choked up at the moment thinking about it.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06It must have been horrendous for you.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09This is the...the cattle burning.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11Well, it was...
0:35:11 > 0:35:17We'd a fantastic squad here for everything and they came and said,
0:35:17 > 0:35:19"Would you like to light the fire?"
0:35:19 > 0:35:21- And I sort of went, "Well..." - HE EXHALES
0:35:21 > 0:35:25And then I thought, well, no, it's my duty to...the final act.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28I've looked after them till now, you know,
0:35:28 > 0:35:33you're there to the end and you do everything that's needed.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36But there was a huge degree of poignancy to it.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48The sort of horror of such a huge fire and...
0:35:48 > 0:35:50burning flesh and the smell.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53Erm...
0:35:53 > 0:35:59Very, very vivid imagery and... the sort of smell of it was the...
0:35:59 > 0:36:02burning flesh. It's seared into my memory.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18'It's hard to watch.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24'But it's a great consolation to be back here at the farm
0:36:24 > 0:36:28'in better circumstances and to see Robin still farming.'
0:36:28 > 0:36:31There was no question we were going to restock.
0:36:31 > 0:36:36I think the one thing I was convinced of, that we were going to get back to where we were,
0:36:36 > 0:36:40but not just back to where we were, we were going to get things better.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42I think also for the sake of the soul,
0:36:42 > 0:36:48you wanted stock back because you weren't really complete or happy.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51If you're a stocksman, you need stock.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57Robin's spirit of resilience was mirrored across the south-west.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00Over 1,000 farms were affected by the outbreak.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02Most restocked.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10So far, I've looked at how farming has coped with crisis
0:37:10 > 0:37:13and adapted to changing circumstances.
0:37:13 > 0:37:18What I want to do now is look at new industries that have emerged in the Scottish countryside,
0:37:18 > 0:37:21and in some cases they've been pretty controversial.
0:37:31 > 0:37:36Hello and welcome to the last of our series of Landward programmes
0:37:36 > 0:37:38from Germany and Scandinavia.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42In 1991, presenter Ross Muir travelled to Denmark,
0:37:42 > 0:37:44pioneers in wind power.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48The dominant features of a typical Scottish landscape
0:37:48 > 0:37:51may be the mountains and lochs but in many areas of Denmark
0:37:51 > 0:37:55it's a man-made feature that's beginning to dominate.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59At that time, there were just a handful of wind turbines in Scotland
0:37:59 > 0:38:02but the Danes Ross met thought there would soon be more.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08Scotland has the greatest potential in Europe
0:38:08 > 0:38:13and I have no doubt that we will see development in the next five years.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15But the late Sir Michael Joughin,
0:38:15 > 0:38:20then chairman of Hydro Electric, had his doubts.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24I'm a realist and it is a supplementary form of power,
0:38:24 > 0:38:26not an alternative form of power.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30One windmill is fine, but you put 30 windmills together
0:38:30 > 0:38:33and it's a very different environmental story.
0:38:33 > 0:38:35I mean, they object to pylons.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38What are they going to do if you've got windmills on every hill?
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Well, as it turns out, they weren't very happy.
0:38:50 > 0:38:55At least, lots of people weren't, as we found out over the years.
0:38:55 > 0:38:56In Perthshire...
0:38:56 > 0:38:57These are massive.
0:38:57 > 0:39:02This is industrial complex, this is not touchy-feely wind farm.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04I mean, we should get away from that word, farm.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06..in Aberdeenshire...
0:39:06 > 0:39:12There are spot developments of one to generally three turbines
0:39:12 > 0:39:14and that explains how, at the moment,
0:39:14 > 0:39:18there's in excess of 700 turbine applications.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20..and in the Borders.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23It has been reported from residents living very closely
0:39:23 > 0:39:28to wind farms that it becomes, over time, intolerable.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31You actually want to scream at the noise.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37And wind turbines are still controversial
0:39:37 > 0:39:41but now half of our power comes from renewable sources,
0:39:41 > 0:39:43much of that from wind turbines.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47It's a multi-million-pound industry and it's not the only one to
0:39:47 > 0:39:51have emerged in the last 40 years, and I'm heading north-west
0:39:51 > 0:39:53to find out more.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02I'm on my way to Ardessie, near Ullapool,
0:40:02 > 0:40:05but yet again Ross beat me to the story.
0:40:06 > 0:40:08Salmon farming.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12The salmon will spend around a couple of years in these cages,
0:40:12 > 0:40:14growing to weights of around 10lb,
0:40:14 > 0:40:17ideal for the fresh retail market, and do you know,
0:40:17 > 0:40:20if the industry develops the way some people think it may,
0:40:20 > 0:40:26then sights like these might be commonplace along the west coast of Scotland.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31Ross got it spot on, even if his rowing wasn't up to much!
0:40:31 > 0:40:36Fish farms are now a familiar presence all along the west coast.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39Salmon are now Scotland's biggest food export,
0:40:39 > 0:40:43worth over £1 billion to the Scottish economy.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55- Gilpin. Good to see you. Where are we going?- We're going to head out to the salmon farm.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57- Let's get some gear on.- It's going to be wet, is it?
0:40:57 > 0:41:00Well, you know. It's the west coast. We'll enjoy it.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05I've come to the oldest independent salmon farm in the country.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Owned by Gilpin Bradley.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11- So, where's the farm? - The farm is just up the loch here,
0:41:11 > 0:41:13Little Loch Broom at our Ardessie site.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17And you've been involved in fish farming, so has your dad, from right at the start.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21Absolutely, well, my father was really one of the first in Scotland
0:41:21 > 0:41:22to run a salmon farm.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24He went into aquaculture
0:41:24 > 0:41:27and started working in a research project with Unilever,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30which was the original Marine Harvest site down at Lochailort.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34'That was back in the late 1960s.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38'Things have moved on a bit since then.'
0:41:38 > 0:41:44In 1971, Scotland produced 14 tonnes of farmed fish in a year.
0:41:44 > 0:41:50By 2015, it was more than 186,000 tonnes.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55Gilpin, you've been in and around the salmon industry
0:41:55 > 0:41:58- for 40-odd years, now, the period that we're looking at.- Absolutely.
0:41:58 > 0:41:59It must have changed a lot.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02It's changed enormously, and it's been a really fun industry
0:42:02 > 0:42:05to be involved with because it's seen fantastic growth.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07Yes, there's been challenges on the way.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10What I thought today would be interesting would be to show you
0:42:10 > 0:42:13a smolt and the change between smolt and harvest-ready fish.
0:42:13 > 0:42:14So, this is a young salmon?
0:42:14 > 0:42:16Absolutely. You have a young salmon here.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20This is a fish that was transferred to our Ardessie site last week
0:42:20 > 0:42:21so it's about 90 to 100g.
0:42:21 > 0:42:25This is the interesting thing. From that size, 18 months later...
0:42:25 > 0:42:28- 18 months to produce that? - To produce that, OK?
0:42:28 > 0:42:30Which is pretty good. We're quite happy with a fish that size.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34So, that probably weighs about 3.5 to 4kg.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36This is what we were happy with 20 years ago but today,
0:42:36 > 0:42:40thanks to many, many improvements in lots of different areas,
0:42:40 > 0:42:42- we're now looking at a fish of this size.- Wow.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45So we're achieving fish of this size
0:42:45 > 0:42:48in exactly the same growth period at sea.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51And we've done it for a variety of reasons.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54Probably the main reason has been better strain selection.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57So, we're selecting strains of salmon that grow faster
0:42:57 > 0:43:00and are healthier in the farmed environment
0:43:00 > 0:43:05and, ultimately, there's been lots of research done to improve diets
0:43:05 > 0:43:09and we've learned a lot about how to use better and better
0:43:09 > 0:43:14growing conditions and it's contributing to better growth rates.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16'Over the years,
0:43:16 > 0:43:20'salmon farming has come under heavy criticism for polluting the sea
0:43:20 > 0:43:24'but Gilpin says they work hard to protect the marine environment.'
0:43:24 > 0:43:27I think the important thing, Euan, to remember about pollution
0:43:27 > 0:43:30is that people often forget we are the number-one losers
0:43:30 > 0:43:32if we jeopardise our environment.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36We are the guardians of this precious environment here
0:43:36 > 0:43:39and the important thing that the critics often forget
0:43:39 > 0:43:41is they seem to think...we're not caring.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44In reality, our livelihood depends on this.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47We now have many second generations working with us
0:43:47 > 0:43:50and there are not many alternative sources of employment
0:43:50 > 0:43:52where we are in the west coast today.
0:43:55 > 0:44:00The salmon industry has experienced phenomenal growth in the 40 years
0:44:00 > 0:44:02that Landward has been on-air.
0:44:07 > 0:44:12But other, more traditional industries have, too.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15Between 1965 and 2015,
0:44:15 > 0:44:20the area of Scotland that is woodland has more than doubled.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26These days, forestry is an important employer,
0:44:26 > 0:44:31supporting 25,000 jobs, but its expansion has come at a cost.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36I've come back down south to Ettrick, just outside Selkirk,
0:44:36 > 0:44:40where you can really see that effect.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48- Donald.- Euan, good morning.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50- So this is it, is it?- This is Ettrick Primary School.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53This is where I went to school in the 1970s
0:44:53 > 0:44:57and I can remember the first day I walked in the door in 1971.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59But it has changed a bit because, as you can see,
0:44:59 > 0:45:01- it's all shut up now.- It's a bit sad, isn't it?
0:45:01 > 0:45:05It's very sad, because the school was the heart of the community.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11Donald Barrie grew up here in the Ettrick Valley.
0:45:11 > 0:45:16At one time this area was dominated by one way of life - sheep farming.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22When Landward visited in 1976,
0:45:22 > 0:45:27forestry was beginning to take over and the population was declining.
0:45:29 > 0:45:33There are many housewives in this area who'll have to travel 20 miles
0:45:33 > 0:45:35to the nearest shopping centre.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38When there was a larger population, you had vans coming to the door.
0:45:38 > 0:45:42They can't do it nowadays. The economy of the situation has driven the vans off the road.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45Spell "again".
0:45:45 > 0:45:50A-G-A-I-N.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52- That's my brother.- Really?
0:45:52 > 0:45:54My brother, Jamie,
0:45:54 > 0:45:56or Jim as we know him now.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59He's looking very serious because...
0:45:59 > 0:46:03he's doing his spelling and he's desperate not to get it wrong.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10Did you have a good day today?
0:46:10 > 0:46:14History, English, spellings.
0:46:14 > 0:46:16Doesn't sound very exciting.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18Surely you did more than that.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22The little boy scoffing a sandwich is Donald.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25I love this. That's my father going off to the hill.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27The horse is called Charger
0:46:27 > 0:46:30and he's galloping away down the lane.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33- This isn't for show, this is working, is it?- Oh, yes.
0:46:33 > 0:46:34That was in the pre-quad-bike days.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37My father had quite a long way to go to go round the hill at night.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39That must bring back so many memories.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43It does. It's deeply moving to have seen that footage,
0:46:43 > 0:46:45especially of my father, actually.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47My father galloping away down the lane on the horse.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50- It's a lovely image, isn't it? - Yes.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54But it was part of our day to go and meet Dad when he came in from the hill
0:46:54 > 0:47:00because he had probably three or four miles on horseback and then he'd come in just before six o'clock
0:47:00 > 0:47:03and if he was in a good mood he'd let my brother and I
0:47:03 > 0:47:06ride the last few hundred yards back down to the farm.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17It must be an eerie sort of feeling.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19Here we are at the foot of the glen...
0:47:21 > 0:47:22..and all we've got is birdsong.
0:47:22 > 0:47:28Absolutely. You don't hear any shepherds whistling to their dogs.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30You don't hear any sheep,
0:47:30 > 0:47:32so where's it all gone?
0:47:32 > 0:47:37Well, in the 40 years since I first walked into Ettrick School in 1971,
0:47:37 > 0:47:39that way of life was pretty much gone.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48Donald wants to show me how forestry has marched along the valley,
0:47:48 > 0:47:51finally, in recent years, reaching his childhood home.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56That's the farm of Analshope, where I was brought up.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59I spent the first 18 years of my life in that house,
0:47:59 > 0:48:04and it's really a farm no longer, because you can see beyond the farm,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07and the old woods that we called the Linn,
0:48:07 > 0:48:08is young Sitka spruce.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10This is new plantings, is it?
0:48:10 > 0:48:12That's been planted within the last ten years.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15In fact, probably within the last five years.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21'Donald's family left Analshope years ago but it still devastated
0:48:21 > 0:48:24'his father to see it planted up with commercial forestry.'
0:48:26 > 0:48:29I may be being a wee bit negative here as we wallow in nostalgia,
0:48:29 > 0:48:31but, you know, trees are an economic driver.
0:48:31 > 0:48:35There are contractors, there's foresters, there's planters.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39It's just a different way of making a living off a landscape.
0:48:39 > 0:48:43Yes. So, most of the work that's done in the forestry sector
0:48:43 > 0:48:46is done by contractors, and it tends to come in waves,
0:48:46 > 0:48:48so you'll have a wave of planting,
0:48:48 > 0:48:51and then nothing for 30 years,
0:48:51 > 0:48:53and then you'll have a wave of felling.
0:48:53 > 0:48:58But there isn't the continuity of employment in the forestry sector
0:48:58 > 0:49:02that we've enjoyed in the agricultural sector.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05There's a job for a shepherd to do every day of the year.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07In the forestry context,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10there might only be a job to do every five years.
0:49:10 > 0:49:15This has really hurt the traditional farming community
0:49:15 > 0:49:19who've seen a very good hill farm being taken away
0:49:19 > 0:49:23and irreversibly damaged, and it'll never be a farm again.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31You know, being up here at the head of the Ettrick Valley
0:49:31 > 0:49:34is quite an emotional moment,
0:49:34 > 0:49:37because you look at that block of forestry
0:49:37 > 0:49:41and you can almost hear the echoes of the shepherds calling their flock
0:49:41 > 0:49:45or the dogs barking in the hillside
0:49:45 > 0:49:48and the sound of the schoolchildren in the local school,
0:49:48 > 0:49:50and that's all gone.
0:49:50 > 0:49:54Progress has to happen, but you feel that somehow,
0:49:54 > 0:49:57a bit of the heart has been ripped out of this valley.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09Throughout the last 40 years, as old industries have fallen away,
0:50:09 > 0:50:12new businesses have emerged.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14Woodland has replaced hill farms,
0:50:14 > 0:50:18but more woodland has created different opportunities.
0:50:21 > 0:50:25The growth that I've seen in outdoor sports over the few last decades
0:50:25 > 0:50:27has been truly amazing.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30I came down here to Glentress, near Peebles,
0:50:30 > 0:50:34for the opening of the mountain bike centre in the late '90s,
0:50:34 > 0:50:37and at that time, it was seen as the saviour of the tourism industry,
0:50:37 > 0:50:41a boost to hotels, and I honestly thought, "Really?
0:50:41 > 0:50:45"People are going to take a bike and go up those hills for fun?"
0:50:45 > 0:50:46I was wrong.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52The popularity of outdoor sports has created new jobs
0:50:52 > 0:50:55and brought cash into the countryside.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00It's also been great fun to report on.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06And here we go up this hill straightaway.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09I'll be filming with this camera. See you later.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11Bye.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18I could have stood up but, you know, time's marching on.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20I've got to meet up with the boys.
0:51:20 > 0:51:22Thanks to a new tourism initiative,
0:51:22 > 0:51:25it's now much easier to take your horse on holiday.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30And, sometimes, it wasn't quite so much fun.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34Clyde Coastguard, this is yacht Josephine here.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36Josephine, yacht Josephine, over.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38'Josephine, Clyde Coastguard, go ahead.'
0:51:38 > 0:51:40Despite that little incident,
0:51:40 > 0:51:44sailing is still one of my favourite ways of exploring Scotland.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46Everybody has their own.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54But in the four decades we've been on air,
0:51:54 > 0:51:57some people's choice of pursuit has fallen out of favour.
0:52:02 > 0:52:06In 2002, Scotland became the first nation in the UK
0:52:06 > 0:52:10to ban traditional fox hunting, and back then, I was being told
0:52:10 > 0:52:14that the whole policy was being driven by sentimental townies
0:52:14 > 0:52:16who knew nothing about the countryside.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19But, of course, many people in the countryside
0:52:19 > 0:52:21find the whole practice abhorrent.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26The fox hunting ban could be seen
0:52:26 > 0:52:29as the culmination of a shift in perspective
0:52:29 > 0:52:32that had been developing over years.
0:52:32 > 0:52:34Back in Landward's early days,
0:52:34 > 0:52:38the public attitude towards hunting was very different.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42In 1979, otter hunting was perfectly legal in Scotland,
0:52:42 > 0:52:46and our team joined the Dumfriesshire hunt for a day.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53Ahh, yes, now...
0:52:53 > 0:52:56Killed, yes, you're dead right.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59We've killed five otters in the last six years.
0:52:59 > 0:53:04And I haven't got the figures on me, but I suppose...
0:53:06 > 0:53:09..each year, we found...
0:53:10 > 0:53:13..12, 15, 20,
0:53:13 > 0:53:17and only killed one each season, more or less.
0:53:24 > 0:53:29Can you imagine the horror, the public outcry there would be
0:53:29 > 0:53:32if the hunting of otters was legal today?
0:53:32 > 0:53:34It's a striking example
0:53:34 > 0:53:37about how mind-sets have changed over the years.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43And it's not just people's attitude to animals that have changed.
0:53:46 > 0:53:47Back in the '70s,
0:53:47 > 0:53:50producing as much food as possible from our countryside
0:53:50 > 0:53:52was the clear focus.
0:53:52 > 0:53:57Farmers responded to that drive a little too successfully,
0:53:57 > 0:54:01leading to food stockpiles, the infamous butter and grain mountains.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06At the same time, many people were also concerned
0:54:06 > 0:54:10by the environmental impact of intensive production.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14Policy shifted, and since the early 1990s,
0:54:14 > 0:54:18farmers have been paid to make space for nature.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23One farmer has embraced conservation more enthusiastically
0:54:23 > 0:54:27than any other farmer I know, and to end my journey,
0:54:27 > 0:54:29I'm returning to North Aberdeenshire
0:54:29 > 0:54:32to see how his farm has been transformed since my last visit.
0:54:34 > 0:54:39It's John Strachan, my very first Landward interviewee.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42Many farmers are taking conservation increasingly seriously these days,
0:54:42 > 0:54:45but perhaps none quite as seriously
0:54:45 > 0:54:47as John Strachan here at Tulloch in Aberdeenshire.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54Well, this was the first pond you took a video of,
0:54:54 > 0:54:57and it was about 25 years ago.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00- Changed a bit since then.- Changed quite a lot. Certainly improved.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02Do you remember us arriving?
0:55:02 > 0:55:05- I do, yes.- 25 years ago?- Yep.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07A bit of a shock to the system, was it?
0:55:07 > 0:55:11- It was a wee bit...- It was a shock to my system. I was petrified.- Aye.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16But I'm kind of getting a bit more used to you now.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20I'll do a few more bits in future years...
0:55:20 > 0:55:26Back then, 20 of John's 380 acres were devoted to wildlife.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30I'll have to leave myself with some land to farm.
0:55:30 > 0:55:32He hasn't left himself much.
0:55:32 > 0:55:37Since 1991, John has added another 100 acres.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42Not many farmers take it this far, but in return for the subsidies,
0:55:42 > 0:55:45all are required to consider the environment.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50It was a big step, but I never thought about it at the time,
0:55:50 > 0:55:54because I kind of started, and then things went...
0:55:54 > 0:55:57- It took over your life, did it? - Well, it did a bit, aye.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05With all the hard work done,
0:56:05 > 0:56:09John now loves to spend time filming the wildlife
0:56:09 > 0:56:11that's attracted to this oasis.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29Sometimes you see an otter swimming across the pond,
0:56:29 > 0:56:34and little grebes, a brood so young every year.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37You get the young ducklings and moorhens.
0:56:37 > 0:56:41It's just a really good way to spend an evening, I would say.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44I remember you said in the first programme,
0:56:44 > 0:56:47I'll be gone long before the trees are mature,
0:56:47 > 0:56:50but the trees are nearly mature now, some of them, and I'm still here.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53If it had been all arable, I would have probably sold out
0:56:53 > 0:56:57and stayed in a house in the village or something long before now.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59But I'm certainly not going to do that now.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01I mean, it's...
0:57:01 > 0:57:03There's just no way.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05I'm enjoying myself so much,
0:57:05 > 0:57:09and hoping to live to be 120 to really get the good of it.
0:57:09 > 0:57:12- I'll see you in another 25 years. - Hopefully, you and I.
0:57:13 > 0:57:17As we've seen, the changes across the last four decades
0:57:17 > 0:57:19have been significant.
0:57:20 > 0:57:24But coming back here to John's farm convinces me
0:57:24 > 0:57:28that many people do strive to change our environment for the better.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36I believe Scotland's glorious countryside
0:57:36 > 0:57:39is one of its most important assets
0:57:39 > 0:57:43and should always be treated as such.
0:57:43 > 0:57:47I've always considered working on Landward as real privilege,
0:57:47 > 0:57:50as we whizz through some of the most dramatic landscapes
0:57:50 > 0:57:51in the Scottish countryside.
0:57:51 > 0:57:53But for me, the real magic
0:57:53 > 0:57:57is turning up some wee stony track in the middle of nowhere
0:57:57 > 0:58:01and meeting some incredible people with amazing stories.
0:58:01 > 0:58:03Now, Landward, like the Scottish countryside,
0:58:03 > 0:58:05has had to adapt and to change,
0:58:05 > 0:58:08but also to flourish when given the opportunity.
0:58:08 > 0:58:12I'm not going to be working on the programme in 40 years' time,
0:58:12 > 0:58:13but so long as there are people
0:58:13 > 0:58:16who are passionate about the Scottish countryside,
0:58:16 > 0:58:18both those who watch the programme
0:58:18 > 0:58:20and the team that make it, who knows?
0:58:20 > 0:58:23There could be somebody standing here,
0:58:23 > 0:58:27somebody who's not even born yet, presenting Landward At 80.
0:58:27 > 0:58:29Now, that's quite a thought. Goodbye.