It’s early summer, the time for farmers to reap rewards. While summer is normally an occasion to combine business and pleasure at markets and in the show ring, the continued presence of the coronavirus means that farmers must continue to work in isolation.\n\nIn Northumberland National Park, on the edge of the vast Harwood Forest, it is shearing time for Emma and Ewan’s 400-strong flock of sheep. The sheep must be clipped to avoid overheating in the hot summer weather, but this year travel restrictions ground New Zealand’s professional shearers, who normally clip a fifth of the UK’s flock. Emma and Ewan persevere on their own, but the going is slow, and tensions are running high.\n\nIn the Lake District, Matt, Murray and a small team of helpers must gather in 300 cheviot ewes and their lambs from the common fell above Haweswater Reservoir. The sheep roam freely over 2,000 acres, resulting in a treacherous gather with many crags and steep drops. When Matt’s dog pushes a small group of sheep too close to the edge, it’s a very close call.\n\nOn the remote Stoer Peninsula in the northwest Highlands, Helen and Graham are relieved to see tourists returning to the area, bringing a very welcome financial boost with them. But the good news doesn’t last for long, as a devastating discovery puts the future of the croft in jeopardy.\n\nIn Aberdeenshire, it’s all hands on deck for Isla, George and their three children. They have now gone four months without childcare, but the couple are beginning to find their feet. Their herd of Belted Galloway cows have produced 12 calves this year, but when one calf doesn’t survive, George comes up with a plan to give Beltie mum Bo a new foster calf to look after.
Source: BBC 2
Series 4: Episode 12
It’s the height of summer - time to prepare for the colder months. This year, coronavirus means farmers are looking much further ahead, finding ways to survive in changing ...
08-11-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: Episode 11
It’s early summer, the time for farmers to reap rewards. While summer is normally an occasion to combine business and pleasure at markets and in the show ring, the continu ...
07-11-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: Episode 10
It’s mid-March. Farmers across the UK are in the middle of lambing and spring calving when coronavirus grips the nation.\n\nHigh in the uplands of Northumberland, Emma and ...
05-11-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: Episode 9
Spring arrives on the farms - the season of new beginnings and spring lambs, when the hard months of winter finally begin to pay off.\n\nIn the Lake District, Matt, Dani and Mur ...
04-11-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: Episode 8
It’s been a long wet winter. After the deluge, the land is stirring. Farmers are preparing for spring and with it the arrival of new life.\n\nIn Northumberland, Emma Gra ...
01-11-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: Episode 7
In Armadale, at the northernmost tip of the Scottish mainland, hill farmer Joyce Campbell is checking up on her North Country Cheviot ewes. They live all year round out on 6,000 ...
31-10-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: Episode 6
It is January, the cold month of survival between breeding and birthing. \n\nOn the Stoer Peninsula in the north west Highlands of Scotland, Helen and Graham corral their Highl ...
30-10-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: Episode 5
The year draws to a close, and the farmers race the fading light as they prepare for the worst of the winter.\n\nDisaster strikes for crofters Helen and Graham in the remote nor ...
29-10-2024
BBC 2
Series 4: Episode 12
It’s the height of summer - time to prepare for the colder months. This year, coronavirus means farmers are looking much further ahead, finding ways to survive in changing ...
08-11-2024
BBC 2
Series 6: Episode 9
Spring is in the air, bringing newborn livestock. In North Uist, Carianne spends her days on the tiny island of Vallay in search of new Highland calves. When one calf is discove ...
14-04-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: Episode 7
In the Highlands, Raymond tests the market for valais blacknose crossbreeds at the Thainstone Rare Breed Sale, while his kids put pressure on him to buy more pets. Crofters Lynn ...
21-11-2023
BBC 2
Series 3: Episode 12
In the Highlands, new crofters Lynn and Sandra welcome more new sheep and take delivery of a batch of hens that they hope will lay the foundations of an egg empire.\n\nIn Northe ...
05-12-2023
BBC 2
Series 3: Episode 1
As the new year begins, we meet three new farming families – father-and-son team Raymond and Johnny Irvine, Shetland sisters Kirsty and Aimee Budge and the Rodgers family ...
13-11-2023
BBC 2
Series 6: Episode 5
Christmas is just around the corner, and Scotland’s farmers are battling the elements to keep things running. In South Ayrshire, a deep freeze descends on John’s far ...
10-03-2024
BBC 2