Couple set up successful farming business on Scottish croft

One couple found their way to achieve their farming dream was to take on a croft and here Katrina Macarthur finds out what life is like farming in one of the country's most remote places.

Getting a step up in the agricultural industry is no easy feat, so it was a dream come true when new entrant farmers Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer secured a croft in the Scottish Highlands in the spring of 2016. With no farming background and very little knowledge of the industry, the couple's dream has only flourished in the past five years now that they are both making a living from their regenerative farming business based at Lynbreck Croft, near Grantown-on-Spey.

But this does not happen overnight, and they have worked hard to make this happen.

Lynn says: "I grew up on the edge of a fairly big town situated 20 miles from Belfast and went to university in Birmingham. But I had some access to the countryside in my early years. Sandra was brought up in Switzerland, although her mum is Scottish, so she had links to here. We met when working down in the south east of England as rangers for the National Trust and then spent two years planting trees for rewilding projects in Dumfries and Galloway."

The duo quickly realised that country life was more suited to them and they were keen to purchase land. Lynn admits, however, that they were only looking to buy around two hectares (five acres) and ended up with 60ha (150 acres) at Lynbreck.

"When we moved into the croft in March 2016, we wanted to produce the best food for ourselves and our local community by farming in symbiosis with nature and working with our team of livestock," says Lynn.

"Our aim was to make a living on a full-time basis from it and to be as self-sufficient as possible. We wanted to play our part in sharing the story of the food that we produced with those around us, but also educate ourselves on day-to-day farming."

Since moving to the croft, Lynn and Sandra have had to invest heavily and work hard to improve both the homesteading and the land.

Sandra says: "The croft was semi-derelict when we arrived. There was a stone byre with half a roof and the old croft house wasn't fit for us to live in so we had a wooden cabin for a house, which the previous owners had built. We had to install and set up agricultural infrastructure and there was only one fence around the perimeter. We don't claim the annual Basic Payment Scheme so we had to make use of the grants that became available to us. Two of these were the Young Farmers Start-Up Grant scheme and the Crofting Agricultural Grant scheme, which we used to build a new barn and buy equipment and livestock. We also received a grant from Scottish Forestry to plant 17,400 native broadleaf trees on the hill and used the Woodland Trust More Hedges scheme to plant 0.9km of hedging."

Building

Initially, both Lynn and Sandra worked part-time away from the farm to bring in extra income during the first few years. They made things as manageable as possible at the beginning but still in a way that they could fulfil their passion for food and supply the locals with home-grown produce.

"When we moved here, we had no real farming background and very little knowledge so our first project was a kitchen garden for ourselves growing vegetables and later soft fruits," says Lynn.

"We didn't know anybody in the area either so by setting up our honesty box at the end of the road to sell eggs from our growing hen flock, we began to make connections with the locals. The kitchen garden has now been extended to include a polytunnel/greenhouse hybrid known as a Polycrub built on Shetland. It's fit to withstand high wind speeds and the harshest of climates - both of which are fairly common in the remote area which Lynbreck lies within."

With the duo now producing more than 70 per cent of their own annual vegetables including peas, beans, beetroot, parsnips, garlic, leeks, kale, seasonal salads, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and courgettes, on the farming side they finish two Highland steers and around 12 pigs per year for selling in meat boxes and artisan added value produce. The Highland steers are bought in at one-year-old and are 100 per cent pasture and tree leaf fed for finishing at about 30 months of age, following a bespoke grazing programme aimed at increasing diversity and improving soil health.

Lynn says: "The overheads for our Highlanders are very low as they are so easily managed and help us with the regeneration of our grasslands and woodlands. They eat whatever we have and they only have to be supplemented with locally-grown pasture and tree hay in the winter months. We don't feed any grains or concentrates. Our Oxford Sandy and Black pigs come to Lynbreck as weaners at eight weeks old. They were introduced initially to work within our woodlands to break up the dense matt of vegetation, opening up pockets for new tree seedlings to establish. Like our hens, they are also fed organic feed and finished at around eight months of age."

The couple offers various meat boxes of beef and pork throughout the year which are sold to the local market and they also run the Little Mountain Meat Club which subscribers can sign up to. Each month, members get a surprise delivery of croft-made artisan produce which includes speciality sausages and sliced and cured meats, processed by themselves in their on-site micro butchery. Bees also play a part in the running of Lynbreck Croft, with 10 hives due to be harvested at the end of August for selling honey throughout September. The couple presses the blossom and heather honey on-farm and they bottle it themselves. A postal service is available but they give the local community priority. In the fields, it is the free-range hens which have made the greatest positive impact in the shortest time at Lynbreck, with the flock now numbering 70 head.

Through regenerative grazing with their mobile hen house, hens are moved through the fields scratching out patches of moss and fertilising as they go. Eggs are sold in the honesty box at the end of the road but now mainly through Lynn and Sandra's subscription-based Egg Club, which has attracted 35 members, with a long waiting list for more who want to join. The subscription includes a delivery service of fresh eggs to local doorsteps every week, giving the opportunity for regular contact with customers.

"We are so passionate about selling produce locally and it feels a real privilege to grow and provide for our local area," says Sandra.

"It's been great to see a wider interest in our work where our mailing list for occasional news, updates and produce releases is getting more subscriptions too. Increasing numbers of the general public are keen to know where their food comes from, particularly since Covid-19."

Success

Since appearing on This Farming Life in 2019, Lynn and Sandra have become well-known across the UK and Lynbreck has been opened up to the general public for monthly croft tours and courses. They also offer private tours by appointment.

"It was a friend who suggested we go for This Farming Life and although it was a bit daunting at first, we had a great time filming with the crew," says Lynn.

"We have tried to make the most of the exposure from the programme for our business diversification and outreach and last summer, signed a deal with a publishing company to write a book about our experiences. It focuses on small-scale regenerative farming, sharing our story and learning from when we started, to where we are now. We are finishing the final edit and it will b out March 2022."

As well as having a huge following on social media platforms, Lynn and Sandra have a number of awards under their belt for the hard work and time they have put into making Lynbreck a success. These include Newbie UK - Best UK New Entrant Business 2018; Cairngorms National Park - Cairngorms Nature Farm Award 2018; Scottish Crofting Federation - Best Crofting Newcomer 2018; Farm Woodland and Award For Young People 2019; RSPB Scotland Nature of Scotland Food and Farming Award December 2019; and Compassion In World Farming - Sustainable Food and Farming Award.

Lynn says: "It's always a humbling experience gaining these awards. Farming is so challenging and no two days are the same and we couldn't have done what we have without the help and support of local farmer friends. This year we came through one of our toughest winters, after snow lay with us for some time, over a metre in some drifts, but we keep going each day, doing our best to farm with nature, provide food for ourselves and our local community, pay the bills, share a positive message and enjoy life."