{"id":17583,"date":"2018-01-30T09:46:50","date_gmt":"2018-01-30T09:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=17583"},"modified":"2021-01-19T13:42:06","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T13:42:06","slug":"back-to-the-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/back-to-the-land\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to the land"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DavidDavid Lintern visits a 21st century croft in the Cairngorms, and comes away with free range eggs and hope for the future.<\/em><\/p>\n

Just off the road to Tomintoul over the Cromdale Hills, there’s a small wooden bungalow and a couple of outbuildings that have seen better days. When my own family were looking to move to the Highlands, we looked at this property. It came with a lot of land; more than we had the capacity or know-how to manage properly\u2026 but since then I\u2019m very glad to say it\u2019s been bought by two women who really do know what they are doing. Back in 2015 it felt barren, treeless and exposed, but in November 2017, when I called in on Lynbreck Croft<\/a> again, it was already transformed. Yet the changes the pair have put in place are just the beginning. Meet Lynn and Sandra…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were working in the Borders, and we had this dream that we talked about for years \u2013 our bit of land we called it \u2013 we were hoping to buy a couple of acres and live the good life. What we ended up with is quite different!\u201d says Lynn. <\/p>\n

What they ended up with was 150 acres north of the Cairngorm plateau, in a beautiful but otherwise neglected spot that had not been farmed for the previous generation. They spent their life savings and purchased in March 2016, with a view to putting the land to work again, but this time with an eye to the environment. Explaining their philosophy, both talk in terms of \u201cthe land as a whole\u201d and it\u2019s clear that they have an expanded view of what constitutes farming, crops and value.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds a bit esoteric, but we just started to ask, \u2018what does the land want us to do with it\u2019? The hill above the house already had lots of pine regeneration on it, so we knew it wanted to become a woodland again. But from the start, the thought was that \u2018we\u2019re a croft, so we\u2019re an agricultural unit\u2019 \u2013 so if we\u2019re going to put that to woodland, how would that benefit the croft as well?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Given how exposed the site is, one of their chief concerns for the future was shelter. The trees would give back by providing shelter for livestock, replenishing the nutrient base and rebuilding the soil. They researched how farms used to run prior to post war mechanisation, and found a \u2018diversified structure\u2019 as compared with our modern monocultures. The small holdings that dotted the land included native pigs and bees, chickens and highland cattle – low impact and low cost. These farms weren\u2019t completely \u2018closed loop\u2019, but without large fields of single crops there was little need for fossil fuel based pesticides and fertilisers. Small was also sustainable.<\/p>\n

Lynn and Sandra wrote their first business plan based on this model of \u2018high nature value\u2019 farming, and received help from the Scottish Government\u2019s Young Farmer\u2019s grant. Lynn explains \u201cEvery decision we make has to be at least environmentally neutral, or ideally, have a benefit. All the animals, when they are on the croft, they are part of the team. They aren\u2019t just here to give us a produce, they are here to add value to the land, and live as naturally as they can in a farmed environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How might this work in practice? The pigs (already on site) are moved around in paddocks to break up tufts of vegetation, allowing more plants and saplings to break through. Highland cattle (due shortly) are excellent natural rewilders and are to be grazed on a rotational basis, disturbing the ground and providing natural fertiliser as they go. The pasture chickens will be sent in afterward as miniature muck spreaders, but are also great at keeping the weeds down. The bees (arriving any day) will help pollinate the various grasses, wildflowers and trees. Lynn and Sandra have one or two crafty tricks planned, too \u2013 they describe the use of seed laced cattle mineral licks, which turns the resultant cow pats into \u2018seed bombs\u2019, perfect for regenerating the pasture on site with wild flowers and grasses. <\/p>\n

The benefits \u2018cascade\u2019 right up the food chain. Better grassland and readily available fertiliser creates new homes for both invertebrates and small mammals, which in turn will serve the local bird populations. Sandra explains \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to assist and enhance what nature does on her own. And of course, we benefit from that too. By creating a healthy soil and a strong root system, we also reduce the risk of erosion and slow down water runoff. If we get the rotational grazing right, we won\u2019t have to plough it up, spray or lime.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That government grant funds the purchase of animals, plus expensive kit like electric pens (that can be moved to allow rotation) and a cattle crush (not as nasty as it sounds \u2013 it\u2019s a cow container!), but what about their big plans for a native woodland? Although this fed into their overall business plan, it was a distinct project. They asked for advice from the Woodland Trust and got financial help from the Forestry Commission. This gave them money for a deer fence (erected by local contractors and pretty much the only thing they haven\u2019t done themselves), over seventeen thousand native saplings and five years of maintenance payments to replace damaged trees as and when. <\/p>\n

They then spent two months preparing the ground, avoiding the more usual \u2018mounding\u2019 method which can damage the hydrology of the soil, and then another six weeks of planting in the spring of 2017. That\u2019s fifteen thousand trees in all weathers, seven days a week, by hand. It\u2019s a native broadleaf mix \u2013 Downy Birch, Hazel, Hawthorn, Willow, Aspen, Wych elm, Alder and Rowan, and all from local seed source. Another two and half thousand Sessile Oak have been planted since. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That was often done by Sandra, as Lynn was otherwise occupied with grant paperwork and a part time job. It\u2019s the biggest single change since I was at Lynbreck eighteen months earlier, and it\u2019s genuinely impressive. It\u2019s hard to comprehend how just two people have achieved so much. But while Lynbreck maybe a labour of love, it\u2019s not a vanity project. \u201cIt was difficult, but it\u2019s worth saying that we were being paid to do this work. If we are serious about showing a way forward for farming in the future, then we have to demonstrate that it is economically viable.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a background in conservation prior to owning Lynbreck, working for the National Trust and the Borders Forest Trust, you\u2019d be forgiven for thinking that they were experts, but the pair are modest and honest about what they\u2019ve had to pick up on the way. \u201cWe are learning all the time\u201d say Lynn. They may have brought know-how in terms of tree planting and ecology, but both had limited experience in agriculture, livestock and grant applications, and none in deer control. <\/p>\n

There has been a huge learning curve, but both are effusive about the help they received; \u201cThere\u2019s these big organisations, but if you reach out to them, and if you are positive and honest and passionate, and you ask for their help, they will help you. The grants are there to get people back into the rural community, and to get people back into living on the land and producing from the land, and that\u2019s a great thing for areas like this. We want to make our own contribution to the community \u2013 social, economic and ecological.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As well as everything else, Lynn gained her stalking license last year, and has taken three Roe deer for the freezer so far. The pair are as pragmatic about that as everything else; \u201cDeer populations in Scotland are the way they are for all sorts of reasons beyond our control, and they are a native animal that has every right to be here, but it\u2019s about looking at our bit of land and giving it a chance to recover. That\u2019s the bit we are responsible for. It\u2019s up to us to do it in the best way we can \u2013 humanely, quickly, and with complete respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

They are not short of ideas for the future either. Their byword is to \u201cwork with what we\u2019ve got.\u201d There are plans to regenerate another, older woodland at the east end of the croft, create a new tree belt and a long hedgerow which should provide food and shelter for the animals. In terms of produce, eggs and meat are already on sale, and in time honey will be too. Work has started on the refurbishment of the byre for a more permanent work building, and in time they hope to rebuild the original croft house for use as a holiday let. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s also talk of some very small scale \u2018glamping\u2019 \u2013 a yurt, or a pod or two \u2013 as part of the ongoing mix of income. Their location on the Cairngorm Snow Roads<\/a> and Highland Tourist Route means they are positioned well for visitors wanting to sample a little of \u2018the good life\u2019. In addition, they are developing education and outreach work by opening the croft up to other farmers and crofters, and organising workshops about the successes and challenges so far. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s as much about promoting a more harmonious vison of farming to the wider public as it is about making a living from the land, but the last thing they want to do is preach. \u201cWhat we really want to do is to help find a really honest way for farming to become sustainable in the future. All those buzzwords – things like \u2018integrated land management\u2019 – we want to make them really happen, and just by doing that it might help others to see that they can do it too. We\u2019re only small, but each of us doing our bit can be an empowering thing, not a chore or a box to tick.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a wider political context here; the likely end of subsidised farming as we know it under Brexit, a move in Scotland towards more community ownership after centuries of feudalism, and a growing public awareness of how and where our food is produced. It\u2019s easy to get swept up in the negativity and fear around these issues. As a consequence, it feels timely to consider good news stories, of which Lynbreck Croft is most certainly one. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

People are moving back into rural areas \u2013 people with energy, vision and knowledge \u2013 and it\u2019s those people who will help knit together again communities that were destroyed and dispersed in past generations. This time around, there\u2019s a renewed understanding that the wider ecology is a part of that same community \u2013 that people can\u2019t thrive without a healthy soil, that plants and animals need space too. Meeting Lynn and Sandra, it\u2019s impossible not to feel hugely positive about Scotland\u2019s rural future. Lynbreck feels like the beginning of something big in a small, green and local way – a perfect antidote to the old school rule of the Lairds. <\/p>\n

\u2026<\/p>\n

If you are considering crofting, perhaps for the first time or with environmental goals in mind, it might be worth a look at the following:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Young farmers and New Entrants Startup grant, Scottish Government rural payments.
\n \u2022 The Forestry Commission Scotland Woodland Creation grant.
\n \u2022 Woodland Trust, both for advice and the More Hedges grant.
\n \u2022 Agri-environment grant scheme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Lintern visits a 21st century croft in the Cairngorms, and comes away with free range eggs and hope for the future. Just off the road to Tomintoul over the Cromdale Hills, there’s a small wooden bungalow and a couple of outbuildings that have seen better days. When my own family were looking to move to the Highlands, we looked at this property. It came with a lot of land; more than we had the capacity or know-how to manage properly\u2026 but since then I\u2019m very glad to say it\u2019s been bought by two women who really do know what…<\/span> <\/p>\n

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