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  • 5/29/2025
Landward episode 9 2025
Transcript
00:00The spring farming season has made way for summer and isn't it marvellous? Welcome to Lambert.
00:30Hello from the rolling fields of Tariff in Aberdeenshire, famous for its annual agricultural show and the beautiful River Deveron.
00:38Soon I'll be dropping in on a major farming business who are ruling the roost when it comes to eggs.
00:43But first, here's what else is coming up.
00:47The Belgian vet students getting a taste of farming in Scotland.
00:53Arlene finds out why the mower should stay in the shed this May.
00:58And Libby has her work cut out following lapwings in Glenlivet.
01:03There's a lot of moving up and down, trying to keep up with it to be honest.
01:14But first, as the weather improves, it brings an increased risk of an insect-borne disease that's causing huge concern among Scotland's livestock farmers.
01:24The blue-tongue virus affects sheep and cattle.
01:27And can be deadly.
01:31The blue-tongue is a rare symptom, but the disease can cause sores in the mouth, lameness and fever.
01:38In affected flocks, the death rate can be as high as 70%.
01:43The virus first appeared in the UK in 2007, but a widespread vaccination campaign wiped it out.
01:52Then, in 2023, the first case was discovered in England.
01:57Since then, there have been over 200 cases.
02:00Experts are now worried that it could cross the border and come to Scotland.
02:04That's a big fear for John Matheson, who farms 2,000 black-faced sheep near Inverness.
02:13He's concerned animals infected with this new variant of the disease may be brought into the area.
02:20We do know of livestock that go south of the border for winter, and then they come back in April.
02:30The next thing will be when there's sails down the road and there's sheep coming back up to the highlands.
02:36Blue-tongue doesn't spread from animal to animal, but John's afraid Highland midges could bite incoming infected sheep and pass the disease on to his flock.
02:48And how big an impact would it have on the business if it came here?
02:52You just have to look back at when fruit and mouth was on the go, and we were all doing well, our sheep.
02:58And all of a sudden, everyone was locked down again.
03:00So we're quite worried that this is going to come.
03:04You've always got to keep your head up and be optimistic.
03:06Sure. But if it came, I mean, it would be devastating, wouldn't it?
03:09Oh, totally. Totally. Hopefully it doesn't come.
03:14But forewarned is forearmed, and research is taking place here at John's Farm, led by Dr. Jack Hearn from Scotland's Rural College.
03:25Jack, how's it going? Nice to see you.
03:27Oh, hi, Dougie.
03:28So tell me, what is this and what are you doing?
03:29This is a midge trap, and we are trying to catch midges in order to time the time of year in which we see midges.
03:37Blue tongue is a seasonal disease, only spread when the midges are active.
03:43By capturing and studying them, Jack and his colleagues can assess if we're entering into a potential risk period.
03:51It's quite important to say that we're just looking to assess the timings and diversity of the midges that we find.
03:57We're not looking for the virus itself.
03:59How did blue tongue get across into England?
04:01Well, that's quite interesting, because you see how small they are.
04:04These actually blew over the channel from Belgium and the Netherlands, where they're having a really, really bad outbreak of blue tongue.
04:10And of course, the south and southeast of England are the closest places to the Netherlands.
04:15So they blew over, started biting animals here, and started spreading the disease that way.
04:18Vaccination is possible, but it's not cheap.
04:23There's no single vaccination that will protect against every variant of the disease.
04:29And while the latest vaccine reduces the severity of symptoms, it won't stop the infection.
04:35Little wonder then, farmers are anxious blue tongue will spread across the UK.
04:42Quite a lot of people are doing a lot of work to try and stop that happening.
04:45So there's restriction on moving animals out of those areas that have been affected by the blue tongue virus.
04:50We're keeping an eye on the midges here to know when we're in the risk period for spread of disease and individual animals being tracked up and down the country.
04:59The samples from John's farm head to Inverness to go under the microscope at the Rural and Veterinary Innovation Centre.
05:07Sorting the midges from the gnats and mosquitoes is Dr. Toby Lander-Yu.
05:14Specifically, what we're looking to identify, number one, is midges out of our kind of mix in there.
05:19And then we're looking for pregnant midges or female midges and the number of female midges that we have in our samples and our midge traps that we're setting.
05:27Why? What's that going to tell you?
05:28So what that's going to tell us is, number one, these midges are now reproducing.
05:33We're getting into that season where we've got reproducing midges, we've got boom in midge numbers.
05:38And what we're trying to understand is when we have these times of the year when insect numbers explode.
05:43And obviously that would increase the amount of transmission of this disease, whatever they're carrying.
05:48From what you find then, how will it help, A, the government and B, the farmers in this country?
05:53So specifically how it's going to help is preparedness.
05:56What this project is really trying to understand is what we have here at the moment.
06:01So our current status of different midges species, different times of the year that they're reproducing.
06:06And then from that, we can plan ahead and create these kind of models and understand the transmission that would happen if we did have blue tongue.
06:14Then we can start to put in plan measures that will influence our policy in the future, influence veterinary practice in the future,
06:22but also help farmers understand when things are going to happen and when potentially there may be an issue.
06:29While everyone is hoping for the best, that the blue tongue outbreak ends before spreading across the border,
06:36scientists are preparing for the worst.
06:40And for farmers like John, the advice is to stay vigilant for any signs of the disease
06:46and report any concerns to the Animal and Plant Health Agency.
06:56Now to Moray, where nature filmmaker Libby Penman is tracking down some springtime wildlife.
07:03This time, the focus is farmland birds.
07:06For the last few programmes, I've been on the Glenlivet Estate in Moray.
07:13Its 23,000 hectares takes in mountain, moorland, forest and two rivers.
07:20It's owned by the Crown Estate, who've worked hard to provide a safe refuge for some fantastic wildlife.
07:28And they've created a hotspot for one of my favourite birds.
07:32And I can hear them already.
07:33I've come to the Tommantile bird hide, right on the edge of the village.
07:43It looks out on a marshy wetland that's perfect for waders like curlew, snipe, oyster catchers and one other stunning bird.
07:55I hide with a lapwing on it. My sort of place.
07:58And there's just time to set up my equipment before I see my first one.
08:09I've actually got a lapwing right now.
08:11And what can I say, they're for sure one of my favourite birds to watch and to film.
08:18But they don't make it easy.
08:20They're very unpredictable.
08:21So I've just filmed it coming in to land.
08:30These birds don't simply just land though.
08:32They do a very flamboyant, extra sort of, whir down, touch base and off they go again.
08:38The way they fly is very theatrical, with like a corkscrew, zigzag.
08:52There's a lot of moving up and down, trying to keep up with it to be honest.
08:56These reckless looking flight acrobatics are a spring courtshoot display by the male birds.
09:05Certainly an eye catching way to attract your mate.
09:10But their calls are just as attention grabbing.
09:12The noise they make is very unique.
09:21Hard to even describe what the sound is.
09:23It does not sound like it comes from a bird, if I'm honest.
09:26It's sort of like an old school arcade game.
09:29It's like a whirring and then a zapping.
09:32It's properly bizarre and very in keeping with the lapwings theatrics in every way.
09:52These birds are definitely easier to film once they've landed.
09:56And after the drama of the courtship, they nest and lay their eggs on the ground.
10:02But that makes them extremely vulnerable.
10:07Looking on from the sidelines are jackdaws.
10:10Members of the crow family that will predate lapwing eggs.
10:14But there's a long list of takers.
10:21Chick survival rates are low.
10:24And across the country, they're in serious decline.
10:27Now red listed as a bird of conservation concern.
10:30Thankfully though, here in Glenlivet, they're doing well.
10:34And the hide provides the perfect place to see them.
10:41It's awesome.
10:41Highly, highly entertaining bird.
10:44And brilliant to see the numbers that they have here.
10:47And, you know, people are reporting sightings on the board here in the hide.
10:51So obviously, you know, members of the public, everyone's getting involved in on the lapwing train hype.
10:59And I guess coming in and enjoying watching them as well.
11:02And listening to them because, yeah, the noise is incredible.
11:07A very, very good spring sound.
11:09From hares to black grouse, and now a personal favourite, the lapwing.
11:18Glenlivet has had no shortage of remarkable wildlife.
11:21It just goes to show there's nothing like springtime in Scotland.
11:32For Scottish vet students, practical experience of farm animals is a vital part of their course.
11:38But some international students are coming here to get hands-on experience.
11:43Shabazz is on his way to Angus to meet them.
11:52Don't worry, I'm not here to help out today.
11:54I'm going to be leaving that to these guys.
11:56These students have travelled here from Ghent University in Belgium.
12:06To see what working life is like on Dalbog farm near Edsel.
12:14One of them is Nina Cruz, a six-year student here on a one-week visit.
12:22Good and dag, Nina.
12:24Have I said that right?
12:25Good and dag.
12:26Hi, nice to meet you.
12:27Hi.
12:27Tell me about the project.
12:29Yeah, so the Ghent Lambing and Husbandry project is a project,
12:32or like an organisation run by students for vet students,
12:37to gain experience in lambing and husbandry tasks.
12:40So when did it start?
12:41It started in 2018, just through a Facebook message from a student,
12:46asking if anyone was interested to go lambing on Orkney.
12:50And so many vet students responded that this year over 300 students are going on a lambing exchange.
12:55And we have about 70 farms all over Europe.
13:02And one person who appreciates the extra help at this busy time is farmer Caroline Smith.
13:07Not only are we lambing approximately 650 yowls this year, we're also calving at the same time.
13:16So it's pretty full on. There's always a job.
13:18And how important is it for you for helping you maintain that experience?
13:22It's so important because the veterinary students, they've got so much expertise behind them that
13:26they've learned in their studies. So it's great bringing them here and they can apply some of
13:32that knowledge that they've learned in the classroom to hear.
13:38And the students are getting the chance to apply that knowledge right now.
13:43There's an emergency, a difficult birth. The CAF is the wrong way round, coming out back end first.
13:51Oh, it's almost there. Yeah, you can almost reach it.
13:58So it's all hands on deck. Nina and the other students and all the farm staff are trying to
14:02get in there and help and see if we can deliver this CAF safely.
14:05It's not pretty. It's hard for the cow and the vet, but it's exactly why they've come to Scotland.
14:18I can reach the closet. Oh my God, I almost have it. But now I'm trying to get it towards me.
14:27Yes, I have. Nina's managed to get a hold of the CAF and put a rope around its hooves,
14:33but she's not sure if it's still alive. More help is needed in the form of vet Susanna Ruxton.
14:44So I did manage to put a string on the hooves. A CAF jack is brought in. It gives extra help to
14:50the cow as she pushes and stops the calf from slipping back. Good. Very good. And then push the
14:56back of it down a little bit. Hold it steady.
14:59It's still alive. Right. But the initial relief turns to disappointment.
15:13Now I don't know, I think. It's dead. It's dead.
15:15It? Yeah. Oh. Oh, wait.
15:20It was really touch and go there for a moment. But thankfully,
15:30we have a healthy calf born. What an experience for these students.
15:37After some patience and time and some drugs and a lot of people, we managed to get the calf out alive.
15:46So that's just great. Yeah.
15:49With mum and calf safely bonding, I wonder how the students experience here differs from back home.
15:57In Belgium, we also have cattle. We also have sheep, but just not the way here outdoors in
16:03these amount of numbers. As a vet student, I learned so much from this situation.
16:08Being able to assist the vet. The vet really explained everything so well. It's been wonderful.
16:14Yeah. For the farmer, a little bit less, but for the students, I think this is why you're doing it.
16:25Now, the Belgian vets are clearly all about animal welfare. And when it comes to eggs, there's no doubt
16:31that the public preference for higher standards of animal care has driven the increase in sales
16:37of the free range variety. Back in the 1960s, only 10% of our eggs came from free range hens.
16:46Now, more than half are produced by systems like this. There are 48,000 hens in this free range
16:54set up near Tariff. Just some of the nearly 900,000 birds egg producer Duncan Farms is responsible for
17:02in Scotland. To qualify as free range, the hens must be able to access the outdoors
17:09for a minimum of eight hours a day. But it takes more than that to keep the birds happy,
17:15as Rachel Duncan can tell me. I think a huge element of it is people. So having good stock,
17:22people who really know what they're doing. The other element is having a range that is inviting
17:27and that they feel safe to go out and explore. While free range is better for welfare, it's not
17:33especially green. The hens live longer, move around more and eat more feed than caged birds. So there
17:41is a higher carbon footprint. But they're doing something about it. We try and look at each process
17:50and see what we can do to improve sustainability. We have integrated renewables on this system here,
17:57solar over there. For us, it's looking at the whole process. And that includes chicken feed.
18:04For your average UK bird, it can account for approaching 90% of an egg's carbon footprint.
18:11The protein part of the feed often comes from soybean imported from South America. Deforestation to grow
18:19that crop, processing and transport all add to its environmental impact. Here in Aberdeenshire,
18:27some of the flock are getting a homegrown feed. Rachel hopes it will cut the company's carbon footprint.
18:33We grow our own feed, 70% of which would be cereals, which we grow on farm all around here. And then
18:43the normal element would be about 20% soy, which is imported. But we're trying to look for homegrown
18:48protein to replace that with. So can we go and look at that then? Yeah, of course.
18:54Not far away, on one of the 14 farms the company owns across Aberdeenshire,
18:59Rachel can show me what's replacing the soybean in their feed. So these are faba beans,
19:05which we're using as an alternative protein to soy for our hens diet. Let's go and have a look then.
19:10So these were planted in February time. So they're quite early crop, but this is what we would feed
19:18hens. So this is last year's crops. And how do these help with the carbon footprint of an egg then?
19:24So compared to a kind of standard soy, then you can get a 50% reduction in carbon and using the diet
19:30that we're on now. But the soybean is a tough act to follow. It's a challenge. I think all alternatives
19:37have a challenge. Soy is a great protein. So the hens love it. And we need something that they like to
19:42eat. And then you so you can suffer with if you don't get the diets quite right, you can suffer with loss
19:48of production and loss of egg size can be a challenge as well. So it's a constant kind of trial
19:54and evolving the diets to get one that works well. Are there any other sort of protein sources that
19:58you can grow in Scotland? It's challenging, particularly up in the northeast here. There are
20:04options, you know, we've tried a bit of rape in our feed before. But again, they all come with challenges.
20:10If you lose productivity, whether that be in total volume or egg size, then you're ultimately impacting
20:17your sustainability because you're getting less output for what you're putting in as input.
20:22And the output, of course, is eggs. How many eggs can you deal with here?
20:29So at the moment, we're doing five million eggs per week. That's right, five million a week.
20:36They've doubled their capacity by putting in new equipment, like this repurposed car factory robot.
20:43And it's all to get these eggs onto Scotland's supermarket shelves.
20:49And why is it important then that this business is sustainable?
20:52We're a family business. We want to keep it for future generations. But also, you know, we're in,
20:57you saw earlier, a beautiful part of the world, beautiful countryside. We want to
21:01encourage that and keep it for the future.
21:04Make no mistake, this is egg production on an industrial scale. It's what's needed if the
21:12consumer is to have a steady stream of affordable eggs on their plate. But with solar power,
21:19wind turbines and growing their own protein, the team here are doing their bit to make brown
21:25and white eggs a little bit greener.
21:33Now, you may have noticed some overgrown, unkempt lawns around the place. But don't
21:39give your neighbours a hard time. They might be doing their bit for biodiversity. Arlene, that's the story.
21:55If you're fortunate enough to have a lawn, the typical advice is to drag the moor out,
22:01at least fortnightly, from March to October.
22:06But the No More May campaign encourages us to save time and wildlife by leaving this thing alone
22:13for at least a month.
22:21The aim is to try to compensate for the loss of wildflower meadows like this.
22:29Beaumains Meadows near Beauness.
22:35Alistair White from Plantlife Scotland, the charity that runs the campaign,
22:40can tell me why it's needed.
22:43This is probably one of our most threatened habitats in Scotland and the whole of the UK.
22:49We've lost 97% of all wildflower meadows across the UK over the last 100 years or so.
22:56And trends suggest that if they keep continuing the way they are at the moment, we'll lose all our
23:03lowland meadows in Scotland by the end of the century.
23:07What's causing that reduction?
23:08It's a whole mix of things. There's some house building and road building, things like agricultural
23:14intensification, so an awful lot of pressures all hammering down on this really, really fragile habitat.
23:20But there are 23 million gardens around the UK.
23:27Space to create mini meadows that can offer a home to bees and butterflies, birds and small mammals.
23:34Alistair is showing me a few plants that might appear if you avoid that bowling green look.
23:43These are very pretty.
23:44They're beautiful aren't they? So this is cuckoo flower.
23:47Why is it called a cuckoo flower?
23:49Because it flowers at this time of the year when cuckoos are starting to call.
23:57It likes these quite wet areas, so we're in a bit of a dip here, a bit of a hollow,
24:02and it doesn't mind getting its feet a wee bit wet.
24:05If you are in a garden and you've got a bit of a shady bit of your garden or a wetter bit,
24:11then you could well see cuckoo flower popping up in your garden.
24:19A bit further on and one I know very well and see quite a lot of.
24:25Alistair, I do know what this one is because I have many of them in my garden, but it's a weed.
24:31Dandelions are really, really important parts of wildflower meadows. They're a native plant and
24:36they're really, really important for a whole load of pollinators. So if you imagine you are a bee
24:43that's hibernated over the winter. You're flying around trying to get some energy. There's really
24:48not very much in flower, but there are dandelions. You're going to home in on these. They're going
24:53to give you a massive boost of energy just when you need it the most, just to get you through that
24:57early spring. They're actually really, really important. Oh, I can't mow them going forward now. I'm
25:02going to have to keep them. Next up, a really special plant. You have to have a keen eye,
25:16Alistair, to spot these. What are we looking at? You do. They're quite inconspicuous at this time
25:22of year, but these are orchids. These are tway blades. And these are just normally growing in
25:28people's lawns. You can certainly find orchids growing in your lawn. They are rarer than some
25:34of the things we've looked at already. But if you do lock up your mower, it's amazing what can come up,
25:41including orchids. And we've had quite a few records of orchids in people's gardens.
25:45And Alistair assures me, I don't have to let my lawn turn into a complete jungle to do good.
25:52If you don't want to let your whole garden go and grow, then you can leave a small patch of it.
25:58Or you can cut different bits of the garden at different times of the year. So maybe leave
26:04the whole thing for May, but then cut a bit in June and then a bit more as you go through the summer.
26:09The important thing to do, though, is at least once a year to do a full cut and take all the cuttings
26:16off because that will allow the wildflowers to flourish year on year. So it'll never get absolutely out of control.
26:22And if you don't have a garden to worry about, never fear, you can still do your bit. Head to the
26:33Landward Facebook page and hit the link to find out how to join in with No Mo May.
26:39That brings us to the end of this programme. If you'd like to watch it again, along with many of our
26:48previous episodes, go to the BBC iPlayer and search for Landward. Now, here's what's coming up next time.
26:55Shabazz is heading for Ailsa Craig to check out the birds.
27:03Rosie suits up to deal with some alien invaders. Within four weeks, you would expect the plant to be more or less dead.
27:10And we meet the man who brought a river back to life. Please join us for that and much,
27:18much more if you can. In the meantime, from all the LAMR teams around the country,
27:23and especially me here in Tara, next to the River Debrun, thank you so much for your company. Bye for now.
27:30Bye for now.