This Farming Life, now in its fifth series, returns to our screens next week.
The series will feature on BBC Scotland on Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021, between 8-9pm.
The popular TV series – which producers filmed over the course of a year – follows six families in remote Scotland.
This Farming Life
It is early spring as farmers gear up for lambing, their busiest weeks of the year.
In Northumberland, Emma, who That’s Farming previously profiled, and Ewan are rounding up their cattle and sheep.
They are preparing to move from Emma’s home for the last ten years to a farm seven times the size, on the Isle of Bute just off Scotland’s west coast.
The move means taking on huge financial risk, and when they finally arrive on Bute, the scale of the challenge that lies ahead begins to sink in.
Emma Gray is one of the world’s best-known sheep dog breeders and trainers, with several world record prices to her name.
She broke the world record for a black and white bitch, Brenna, in 2019 at Skipton when she sold for 14,000gns. The following year, Meg changed hands for a record-breaking 18,000gns, becoming what was then the most expensive working sheepdog.
The well-known shepherdess strives to “breed top-quality working sheepdogs with an emphasis on working ability”. She believes that “heart, honesty, bravery and power” are the lifeblood of a working collie.
She has sold working sheepdogs worldwide to the USA, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Israel and even the Faroe Islands.
Dairy farming
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Stranraer, Andy Love is preparing to hand over the reins of his dairy business to his daughter, Kayleigh.
She plans to maximise the dairy’s earning potential by bringing a large part of the business in house – pasteurising and bottling their own milk.
Notably, it is a risky new venture, at a time when she’s also facing challenges at home.
Her husband, Rab, is undergoing chemo for bowel cancer. Also, the couple run an Italian restaurant, which Covid restrictions have hit hard.
In Loch Ness, cousins, Donald Fraser, and David Girvan, are preparing for the busy spring season ahead.
Donald’s partner, Joanna, is new to farming, and this year, she is keen to get as hands-on as possible and push on with ambitious plans to establish a farm shop.
