Landward episode 25 2022: With the festive season fast approaching, Dougie visits a farm near Buchlyvie, in Stirlingshire, that has diversified from producing beef to growing Christmas trees. He lends a hand as people come along to cut their own trees. Elsewhere, Rosie is in Ullapool to help the community build this year’s creel Christmas tree, while Cammy visits young farmers taking part in the trial of an app that tracks low-level mental health.
Anne is near Strathdon to find out out how avian flu is affecting poultry farmers producing Christmas turkeys. Avian flu, also known as bird flu, is a viral infection that can affect many different types of birds, including poultry. Outbreaks of avian flu in poultry can cause significant mortality and morbidity in affected flocks, leading to economic losses for farmers and the potential for the virus to spread to other birds and animals. While most strains of avian flu are not easily transmissible to humans, some strains can cause severe illness and even death in people who are infected. It is important for farmers and others who work with poultry to be aware of the symptoms of avian flu and to implement measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
Arlene is just outside Cupar, in Fife, to discover the benefits of overwintering cattle on specially grown forage. Overwintering cattle refers to the practice of keeping cattle outdoors during the winter months. This is a common practice in many areas, particularly in regions where the climate is cold but not severely so. Overwintering can be a cost-effective way for farmers to raise cattle, as it allows the animals to graze on pasture for much of the year. However, it also poses some challenges, such as the need to provide adequate shelter and nutrition for the cattle during the winter months. Farmers who overwinter their cattle must be prepared to manage the animals’ needs and to take steps to prevent or treat any health problems that may arise.
Landward episode 25 2022
Landward episode 25 2022 is a long-running Scottish television programme focusing on agricultural and rural issues, produced and broadcast by BBC Scotland. The programme was produced to replace the network agricultural programme Farming thus allowing a more Scottish focus on rural issues. The issues which Landward addresses are generally those within the rural public consciousness of Scotland, itself a country with a large farming community. Additionally, the show features stories covering Scotland’s vast landscape, with various stories covering the wildlife and nature of the country.
From 1976 until 2007, it aired Sunday lunchtime, replacing the similar shows Farming and then later Countryfile which aired elsewhere in the UK; In 2007 Landward moved to a regular Friday evening slot, and replaced Countryfile only when it could not be shown in its usual slot (e.g. because of sports coverage). From April 2009, both programmes now have guaranteed prime time slots and one will no longer be dropped to accommodate the other.
Agriculture in Scotland
Agriculture has long been an important part of the economy and culture of Scotland. The country’s varied landscape, including highlands, islands, and coastal areas, provides a range of opportunities for farming and food production. In recent years, the Scottish government has placed a strong emphasis on sustainable and environmentally responsible farming practices.
Agriculture in Scotland includes all land use for arable, horticultural or pastoral activity in Scotland, or around its coasts. The first permanent settlements and farming date from the Neolithic period, from around 6,000 years ago. From the beginning of the Bronze Age, about 2000 BCE, arable land spread at the expense of forest. From the Iron Age, beginning in the seventh century BCE, there was use of cultivation ridges and terraces. During the period of Roman occupation there was a reduction in agriculture and the early Middle Ages were a period of climate deterioration resulting in more unproductive land. Most farms had to produce a self-sufficient diet, supplemented by hunter-gathering.
More oats and barley were grown, and cattle were the most important domesticated animal. From c. 1150 to 1300, the Medieval Warm Period allowed cultivation at greater heights and made land more productive. The system of infield and outfield agriculture may have been introduced with feudalism from the twelfth century. The rural economy boomed in the thirteenth century, but by the 1360s there was a severe falling off in incomes to be followed by a slow recovery in the fifteenth century.
The early modern era saw the impact of the Little Ice Age, which peaked towards the end of the seventeenth century. The closing decade of the seventeenth century saw a slump, followed by four years of failed harvests, in what is known as the “seven ill years”, but these shortages would be the last of their kind. After the Union of 1707 there was a conscious attempt to improve agriculture among the gentry and nobility. Introductions included haymaking, the English plough, new crops, crop rotation and encloses were introduced.
The resulting Lowland Clearances saw hundreds of thousands of cottars and tenant farmers from central and southern Scotland lose access to land and either become landless agricultural workers or emigrate to the growing industrial cities or elsewhere. The later Highland Clearances involved the eviction of many traditional tenants as lands were enclosed, principally for sheep farming. In the first phase, many Highlanders were relocated as crofters, living on very small rented farms which required other employment to be found.
