WATCH: ‘Government totally underrate farming’ says Inverness-shire farmer concerned about funding uncertainty
Shearing a sheep, feeding hungry llamas, transporting two mighty Highland cows, chasing boisterous goats, teaching school groups and checking the barley. Farming is not quite as blissful as I had first anticipated.
Starting at the crack of dawn, I layered up in my ‘farm-wear’, and headed down to Farm Ness, near Loch Ness.
Immediately I was introduced to Donald Fraser, who is the fourth generation to take over the farm, showed me around the farm.
He said: “In basic terms, farming is food production and it’s massively important for us to be able to produce our own food here. I think the government totally underrates it.
“In Scotland, we farm to such high standards, I don’t think people realise that we have some of the highest welfare standards in the world.”
While I sipped on my caramel latte, I watched Orkney farmer Sean Cursiter, from BBC’s ‘This Farming Life’, shear dozens of sheep in a matter of minutes. As I sat back and watched, I thought to myself ‘that looks like a walk in the park!’... boy, was I wrong.
The farmer said: “You want a go?” I felt obliged to give it my best shot, as how hard could it be? Right?
As I stepped up onto the sheep shear central station, Sean said: “Whatever happens, don’t let go of this shearer. It’ll take your leg off.”
I gulped as I trembled with fear, and smiled at the sweaty farmer. “Okey dokey,” I said.
I gripped the shearer and held it with as much strength as I possibly could. ‘Don’t let go, don’t let go, don’t let go,’ I repeated in my head.
“You have to stretch,” the farmer laughed. And with that, I found myself doing a downward dog yoga pose over the sheep. I began to shear, and as the beads of sweat dropped off my forehead the sheep kicked.
“Are you alright?” the farmer asked as he took over. At that moment in time I couldn’t feel anything, I was completely and utterly fixated on the deadly shearer that rapidly vibrated in my hand.
After a moment, I regained my composure and began shearing the sheep again, but this time I had a bit more confidence.
“That’s it, you’re done, well done,” Sean said.
Annual sheep shearing is critical for the animals' health and welfare, as well as for the quality of wool they produce.
Shearing keeps sheep cool in the summer and reduces the risk of overheating and death. It also reduces the risk of parasitic infestation from ticks, lice, mites, and maggots, which can cause fly strike.
While Donald hasn’t had to deal with many cases of fly strike on his farm, this year he experienced quite the opposite as around five to 10 of his sheep suffered.
He said: “Fly strike is a really nasty one and if you don’t see it or catch it then it will kill the sheep quite quickly. We usually don’t have a problem with it, but when the weather was quite good early this year, we ended up having a few cases.”
The farmers continued expertly shearing the sheep as I walked away with a newfound appreciation for farming, but that was only the beginning.
It was then time to feed the llamas, rabbits, goats and Highland cows.
Two of the not so shy goats charged towards me begging for some food. Meanwhile, I ran straight towards the exit gate.
At that point Emma (19), who is part of the young farmers association, took over and I was astonished at the control she had over them.
Emma was born into farm life and when talking about its challenges, she said: “The weather has such a big part to play in it, so if it’s bad weather then it’s not ideal, but sometimes we need the rain too.
“It is a hard lifestyle, but it is so rewarding.”
After experiencing a day in the life of a farmer, I was able to see the importance of Highland agriculture and the difficulties farmers endure on a daily basis.
Donald said: “The biggest difficulty we have right now is uncertainty in terms of how we get paid by the government. We just want some security as we just want to produce food, but we also need to be able to make a small profit.
“I couldn’t survive without that money and it’s difficult not knowing what’s coming and if we will meet all the criteria.”
From the weather, funding, and animal upkeep, it is fair to say that farming is no walk in the park and requires a lot of work and dedication.
