For the past few months I have been all around Scotland. After leaving the west coast in February, I made my way to the picturesque valley of Stirling to work on Old Leckie Farm. This farm has been in the same family for over 100 years and have everything you expect on a family farm: cows, horses, chickens, pigs and sheep…my ultimate dream! Old Leckie is run by Alison and Fergus Younger, who – along with their three girls – have been the most wonderful hosts. Taking over ten years ago, Alison and Fergus have brought this farm from a simple cattle farm to creating one of the most successfully diverse small farms in the area, even winning the “UK Diversification Farmers of the Year”. They brought the farm from dealing with just cattle and sheep, to adding products like free-range eggs, potatoes, salad and garlic. They offer home deliveries of their goods, practically feeding the local community. As their farm is currently funded by government subsidies, diversifying their farm is crucial in order to solidify their own profit streams and be able to operate on their own. Even though these changes are economically motivated, they are also deeply concerned with climate change and diversifying is helpful on their path to becoming a regenerative farm.

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Diversification of farming is something that is becoming increasingly important as we see the adverse effects of large scale monocultures. Our modern agriculture system has gone in the direction of extreme specialization in the past century — monocultures of dairy or beef cows, massive corn and soy plantations. These monocultures have lead to many of the issues we are seeing in farming today: harsh on the landscape, dependent on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and poor conditions for animals. Farming has always been something that worked with the cycles of nature — the changing seasons, life, death. To take advantage of these cycles, farms often would have a little bit of everything. Fergus likes to say that although they are doing something different and “new” to our modern standard, they are actually going back in time to what a traditional farm would have done in the past. Regenerative agriculture is farming that uses practices that help improve your land rather than degrading it. This focuses mainly on increasing soil biodiversity by the use of organic matter, drawing on many farming philosophies like holistic management, permaculture, and organic practices. Focusing on regenerating the land helps produce higher quality food but also combats climate change by strengthening the land to withstand extreme weather events.

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When observing regenerative cycles, Old Leckie’s are plain and simple to see. They grow barley in the spring and summer for winter feed/bedding to the cattle in the winter. The manure produced during the winter is then used to fertilize the growing fields. For some of the sheep they do kale grazing. They will plant kale in the spring, let it grow all summer and the sheep get to graze it throughout fall and winter. During this time the sheep fertilize the ground and help improve the organic matter of the soil. This sets them up to be able to easily grow grass or crops the next year without having to put additives. All the food waste created in the house or unsellable eggs, go to the pigs. Wood from their land is used in a biomass boiler to heat their house. These are just a few examples and it is so impressive to see these cycles working in action. They also are less mechanized than other farms, doing much more manually that most farms need to today. Struan, the farmhand, says that this is one of the aspects he likes best about Old Leckie, it still feels like you are really farming. Doing tasks by hand (not having to sit in tractors or telehandlers all day) gives him a greater connection and care for the place.

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On the farm, I feel I really got to try everything. Every morning would begin with feeding the animals: I was responsible for giving the pigs oats, collecting eggs, feeding the chickens, and helping with the cattle. Everyday they get about 1000 eggs — crazy to think that I handled that many a day! We then would do various tasks, every few days we moved electric fencing for the sheep that were strip grazing on kale (almost always ended up with a sheep escaping or something drastically inconvenient happening). We would gather and split logs for the biomass boiler, packing eggs into cartons, and do some local deliveries of eggs and meat.

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It takes some time to get used to being around animals. I would say I got pretty comfortable around sheep and pigs by the end, but cows still definitely intimidate me. They are just such great creatures; so large and have so much personality. That being said, they are all equally cute. While I was there the animals were wintering so the cows were inside full time and so were some groups of sheep, this is a process done by many farmers, Stirling is a very wet climate, which can be very damaging, especially to cattle that easily catch pneumonia if they stay wet for too long. It was sad I did not get to see the animals out grazing in the pasture but I hope to experience farming through the spring and summer in the future!

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Being here has allowed me time to explore and appreciate the winter season, nature, weather, and the cycles of life. Even though farming feels fast-paced at times, it does teach you to slow down and really observe the thigns that are going on around you. Caring for animals is something that takes a lot of observation. Fergus was telling me that when he was a kid, his mom would always stop to watch the sheep or cows for ages, he would get impatient, wanting to get on with the next thing. As he grew up he realized that that is crucial to knowing how your animals are doing. You can observe the health of the animal just by seeing the way there walk or how they interact with the others.

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Even for the short amount of time I was working here, being outside and interacting with the same things everyday really made me feel a different sort of connection. It seems that many of us are always searching for a “sense of place” wherever we go. I think this is a big reason why so many people travel: they want to see if they fit in better, if they can find that connection. I feel like in the way many of us interact with land today, almost separated, we don’t always feel that deep connection to place. Personally I find it hard to be connected to the land when I am in cities. They often feel sterilized and cold — that is until I meet people and they are the ones that warm it up. For my whole life I have always yearned after being outdoors, which is probably what has ultimately led me to a path where I want to be working with the land. This is why I am drawn to farming; when you are the owner of a farm it is like you are tapped into a system that is between you, the land, and what you are farming. Having the intricate cycles you must know about in order for everything to work is something that excites me.

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I was speaking to Fergus about this and he related this sense of place he feels here, to sheep: When sheep are born on a part of a hill or mountain, they become ‘hefted’, meaning they remember the area they were born. If you take them off the hill, it is instinctual for them to return to that exact spot. They then teach that to their young and so on. If you grow up in a place where you are connected to everything — observing the effect of the seasons, how animals and plants come and go, seeing trees you planted when you were a kid outgrow you — you develop a similar relationship, having that animal instinct of wanting to return. Having that connection has its pros and cons, he explains. “It is an amazing thing, but you are so committed and responsible…It is lovely being tied to the seasons, seeing the change throughout the year, but very daunting if you are not brought up with it”. He says what he finds important to having a successful farm, is to have a good partner team. Him and Alison run the farm together but rule over different areas. Fergus is in charge of the animals and the inner workings of the farm, whereas Alison’s skill set lies in administration and making connections. He says that they would not be as successful as they are right now if it was not for Alison’s work with networking and marketing the farm. It is important to have people playing into their roles while sharing a joint vision. While working with them, it was very apparent how well they work together and you can see how skilled they are in bringing their visions to life.

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This great responsibility of farming becomes even greater with the increased concern for climate change. When speaking to Fergus, the weight of this seems to be on his shoulders. He understands not exactly what is to come, but that there will be unsurmountable changes — unquantifiable to us right now. Although there are measures we can take, climate change could take us over before we can adapt, which is becoming increasingly more apparent as we are visually seeing extreme weather events. This does not mean we should give up, just that the reality of the next few decades may be harsher than we think, especially for our farmers. He find that them going in the direction of having a close knit local market will be much more manageable for the changes that are bound to come. Their network is very impressive: they deliver to 225 houses every week in their electric van. Due to costs they have not gone for the organic label, Alison states that it was not something that mattered to her customers because they know exactly where their eggs and meat are coming from, have a personal connection to the farmers, and know the quality and care that goes into their products. Cultivating this local community is exactly what we hope to be seeing between farmers and consumers in the coming years. Reducing our transportation times and costs, creating valuable connections between farms and our plates, and knowing that your food is coming from an excellent source.

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Working here was a dream come true, better than I could have even imagined. My hosts were the most incredible family and I loved working alongside them everyday. As I never planned to come to Scotland, I feel so lucky that I was able to get the opportunities I did. I got to learn about the farming process, about the history and cuisine of this country, as well as see my favorite trees everywhere! The winter may have been harsh at times but I am happy to have spent the season in such a beautiful place. I am excited for my next chapter in Morocco but definitely sad to leave behind the connection and experiences I have had the past quarter.

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I left Old Leckie mid-march and got to spend a few weeks staying in hostels and exploring the areas of Scotland I had been wanting to. I got to make it up to the Cairngorm mountains for a few days and stay in the city of Glasgow! I visited some amazing art museums, attended a film festival and met some wonderful people!

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I know this was a long post but hope you enjoyed! Seeya next time :)