The Scottish Farmer

Diary of a farmer’s wife

Before I became the wife of a Scottish farmer on a West Coast island, I had a rose-tinted view of what a farm kitchen would look like: lambs reviving in the bottom of the Aga.

Still Game... Peter Tennant

Peter Tennant is Still Game... Peter, aged 77, has been a dairy farmer all his life with a passion for Clydesdale horses. Based at Teneil, Braehead, Forth, near Lanark, Peter consented to gathering his family around him to record some of his thoughts on our questionnaire. Here are the results.

Enlist the help of weight loss professionals

There is not a person in the country, throughout January, who isn’t looking at their waistline and thinking favourably about buying a nice, comfortable pair of elasticated trousers, in order to accommodate the growing girth.

Twenty four hour shopping on Muck

The Green Shed on the tiny Hebridean island of Muck, is open for business 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Still game... Andrew Morrow

Welcome to a new feature within the lifestyle section, called ‘Still game...’ It’s no secret that farming is full of fantastic characters and as they get older, the more opinions they have to share, it seems. Those auld boys (and girls) who you meet at ringsides, auctions and annual shows throughout the year, always have a point to make, a joke to share, and a smile for their pals.

Breathing new life into old buildings

Thinking about breathing new life into your redundant farm steading, or looking to increase your income with holiday cottages? No matter how big or small your plans – The Building Workshop could provide the perfect solution.

Healing cream for your livestock (and yourself)

Using natural products is always preferable to using harsh chemicals to soothe already sensitive skin and Michael Lynch, of OrlDen Herbal Products in Warrenpoint, Co Down, in Northern Ireland, has taken this a step further by educating himself enough to create herbal creams and lotions which can be used on livestock, pets and humans alike.

Pressure on to feed the workers - French style

An update from our Scottish family, the Bells, who have hopped the channel and are now farming in France. A huge learning curve for the family, life in France is never dull.

Foraging for fungi finds

As summer is bulldozed by the rampaging weather that is currently hitting the UK, a trace of a silver lining can be found for those who enjoy taking advantage of the free food that can be found in the UK’s countryside at this time of year.

Gathered into history

The humble sheep plays a curious role in the history of the Scottish Highlands – where, this very symbol of meekness and mild acceptance of sacrifice is often cast as the villain.

Fine dining in the comfort of your own home

New direction FOR CHEF DUE TO ILLNESS

Honey-holics stir up a lethal brew for The Highland

Each year the staff of The Scottish Farmer take on a summer challenge to win the coveted TSF perpetual trophy.

Digging around in search of history

Find out what’s beneath your fields? Do you know the history surrounding the land your farm sits on? In all probability you would know anything interesting that has been passed on by the previous generation, but what of hundreds of years ago, or even further back?

Escape to luxury with all the family

CAN YOU remember the last time you took a holiday away from your farm?

Memories of the London Dairy Show

WHILE SHOWING animals now can feel like a stressful operation, with all the preparation of feeding, washing, clipping, timed to perfection in order to showcase your animal at ‘12 o’clock’. But look back in wonder at the work that had to be completed in order to transport up to 10 animals to London, by train, in order to show them at the biggest show in the UK ... now that’s real stress!

Plea to help fellow farmers in the Gambia

Once in a while I receive a phone call telling a story that cannot be ignored. Just recently, Margaret Keene, who owns and runs New Cample Farm, in Thornhill, Dumfries, with her huband Michael, got in touch asking for some help from readers of The SF.

Dowling stoves – at the heart of the home

Over a decade and a half ago I lived in a rather cold and draughty country cottage.

Cupcakes selling like hot cakes!

IF YOU are a regular reader of The Scottish Farmer – and particularly if you might have happened to notice our penchant for weekly ‘Cake Wednesdays’ demonstrated with determined enthusiasm, via our Facebook page, you could be forgiven for thinking we are somewhat obsessed with home-baking!

New Cample farm for food, fun, and folk music

There have been some big changes at the Dumfries-shire farm of New Cample in the past wee while. Once just another run-of-the-mill farm, it now boasts a flourishing farm shop and tearoom, though Margaret and Mike Keene still operate the farming side of their business, it is now closely interlinked with their new enterprises.

Hide away in couple’s heaven

Superlatives can be overused, but after a visit to the Hideaway Experience at Balkello near Dundee, it is difficult not to litter this article with them.

Thinking of diversifying Could wigwams be the answer?

DIVERSIFICATION COMES in many forms, but the reality of today’s farming incomes is that diversification is becoming an essential element of a successful agricultural business, writes Karen Carruth.

Strathfillan – leading the way in wigwam sites

THE BUSINESS Strathfillan Wigwams has been operating in the Scottish Highlands, between Crianlarich and Tyndrum for the past 16 years.

Emerge from the snow and begin to grow

A belated Happy new Year to you all! After the ‘cold snap’ we all endured before Christmas it is heartening to see some colour peeping through in the garden.

Nature’s bracken clearers are put to work

THE AREA around Western Ardnamurchan is a remote and rugged finger of land pointing westwards towards the Hebrides.

Malawi's MUMs benefit from Scottish charity worker

An Aberdeenshire medical student has persuaded the proprietors of the local farm shop to help raise funds for Malawi’s Underpriviledged Mothers (MUMs).

Stir up a storm at Scotland’s cookery school

By Karen Carruth

If you are struggling to find a gift for a loved one, here is the perfect solution – purchase a voucher for one of the many cooks schools that are proving extremely popular around Scotland.

Pork, the Puddledub way

Articles are abundant on organic, rare breed and specialist pig producers. But what of the pig breeders who produce top quality pork using the resources they have been given, which were decided long before the farm’s future lay at their feet?

Tense times during lantern judging

It's always the same, you go on holiday for a few days and while you are away someone comes up with a 'good' idea, which inevitably involves someone else doing the work. So, a couple of weeks ago editor Alasdair Fletcher came up with his annual idea. We were having a tumshie carving competition.

Log onto winter warmth

Have you seen the long-range weather forecast?

Have your animals immortalised in oil

Finding a subject which constantly inspires is a delight for the artistically minded, but for Elaine Johnston, based in Sorn, in Ayrshire, painting animals is proving a welcome change of direction.

The Grey menace

Some months ago Karen Carruth from The Scottish Farmer had just run over a grey squirrel.

The Perfect Present Company – for the wedding list you really want

You’re getting married!

The time is ripe for picking and pruning

The wee cock robin sat on the cherry tree trilling its autumn song. As I walked by I said: ‘Don’t be so daft, it’s the last week in August – and we haven’t had summer yet !’ Alas that bird was right!

Fizzing up the Scottish apple market

Scotland’s only dedicated cider producer is offering farmers and landowners the option of planting an alternative crop – apples – which can be grown on any piece of land which isn’t currently proving to be commercially viable.

Happiness on tap

BACK IN his carefree student days, Demijohn founder Angus Ferguson enjoyed a spell of living and studying in the southern Italian city of Naples where, as he puts it, the people “live to eat, rather than eat to live”.

Heads of Ayr Farm Park voted the ‘Best in Britain’

The school holidays are upon us again and for parents it presents the dilemma of how to amuse your children for seven long weeks.

Lucy transfers her skills from saddle maker to bag maker

Many successful businesses are based on the principle of filling a perceived gap in the market.

Heartache down on the farm

Spring arrived here in France and with it the terrible news that our favourite neighbour had died suddenly, leaving his wife bereft.

Little Doone - drizzle some delight onto your home cooking

When The Scottish Farmer comes across something that we really like, we are always kind enough to share with our loyal readers.

Jim rejects life in a wheelchair and becomes Bowen therapist

Living with back pain, whether temporarily or with a chronic condition has the ability to change your entire life, and not for the better.

Craigrobin holiday cottage – Barmurrie Farm, Balmaclellan

Making cream from the crop at Cream ‘O Galloway

Over the next two weeks The Scottish Farmer will be focussing on the region of Dumfries and Galloway.

Spring is on its way

Hello again. As spring emerges from one of the longest winters I can remember, we venture nervously into the garden to see what has survived.

Distilling life back into the Western Isles

“The whole concept of the Abhainn Dearg distillery is to come from the fields of the Western Isles to the bottle – we want the whole product eventually to be done out in the west here,” says Marko Tayburn when asked about his Hebridean distillery.

Locals teaching the new residents the ‘French way’

We have been touched by the amount of help and consideration we’ve received recently.

Depression - help is out there

The Scottish Farmer office received a phone call from a lady who wanted to highlight a very personal issue to her and her family.

Depression - Ian Frame’s story

Ian Frame, better known to his friends as Peem, was a 33-year-old shepherd, working in a job he loved with Billy Renwick’s Blackfaces at the Glen, Innerleithen.

Depression - What is it?

Everyone gets down and feels depressed at some point in his/her life.

Depression - what friends can do

Seeing someone you care for going through the symptoms of manic depression can be very distressing for friends and family.

Special feature on Scotland’s three cold pressed rapeseed oil producers

Extra virgin cold pressed rapeseed oil – Scottish, natural and healthy

Ola Oils - Inverurie

Just following their own curiosity sparked a business idea for John and Connie Sorrie, of Westfield Farms, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.

Glendaveney oil - Peterhead

SpotTing a gap in the market and taking the necessary steps to make the most of the opportunity is the key to success as far as business entrepreneurs are concerned.

Summer Harvest oil - Perthshire

Summer Harvest cold pressed oil which comes from Ferneyfold Farm, in Madderty, Perthshire, is a diversification project taken on by Mark Bush when he came to Scotland in 2007, to live with his new wife Margaret Cameron, whose family have been farming at Ferneyfold for more than 50 years.

Straight back at you!

Smallholder farmer Carol Davies, from Kinross, has spent most of her 63 years being a very active, outdoors person – horseriding, squash and cycling – were some of her hobbies. Even after a riding accident in childhood, which introduced some back problems, she continued being healthy and active, eventually taking on the hard physical work that a flock of Suffolk sheep bring.

Investment, not aid for a stronger Africa

Women pickers in colourful costumes making their way along rows of green bushes is often the picture painted of commercial farming in Africa.

Taste the priority at Nethergate Larder

Tucked away in Dunlop, East Ayrshire, is a family business working hard to try to maintain both an ethos and a livelihood from native and rare breed animals.

EatBute, highlighting quality food producers on Bute

Johnny Bute 7th Marquess of Bute

Lifestyle Features

Services

ED'S QUESTION