The CHANGING face of FARMING....

[@willharris8324]

Not just rural Scotland. The same is happening in all rural communities. I'm in Cornwall, and we're losing our post offices, petrol stations and village shops. The majority of Children in our local school arrive by car. Very few locals live in the village, with the majority being people who have moved to the area to retire. Only a fraction of the number of people working on the local farms compared to there would've been. I'm quite happy to be working from the seat of a tractor though and not walking behind a horse or having to trim back hedges by hand.

[@farmstockofficial]

Thanks for commenting. Yes, it's a trend all over the UK. It's becoming harder to justify farming land like this from an economic standpoint and depending on which way the subsidies go, we could see a lot of sheep go off the hills.

[@CarsGuitarsARs]

Its ok though, just keep voting for big government liberalism and they will figure it out for you.

[@markmeredith5521]

I’m a small farmer in the Midlands. The accountant came the other day.Before he arrived he asked if I could put the invoices in alphabetical order....There were 35 piles ! Feed firms,3 markets,mineral companies,water boards,gas companies,grain merchants,3 contractors,agricultural merchants,hardware store,......We don’t realise how many people we rely on...And who rely on us for their living.Its a whole community thing. Brilliant video BTW,always interesting.

[@farmstockofficial]

Thanks for commenting and you're right, there are so many people who rely on rural communities like this and if we're not careful there won't be many left.

[@richardmatthews3304]

Your exactly right we do some contracting circumstances change and we find ourselves with less to do, money is certainly tighter both in the contracting and our own farm, I'm not a shooter I have a couple of mates who are keepers and shooting also creates a lot of employment rearing, feed supplies vets. Keepers beaters retrieving meals pubs clothes, we can't all cut grass for the people who move from the cities for the country life

[@gramemcdowall8246]

I am originally from Dumfries, you said this was in SW Scotland, where about? Sad to see the farming community declining, just the same as the town of Dumfries. keep the videos coming, I enjoy them very much.

[@farmstockofficial]

The farm is technically in Lanarkshire but only just. The farm boundary forms the border between Lanarkshire and Dumfriesshire. The farm sits at the top of the Daer reservoir in Lanarkshire.

[@edchapman7561]

Good thought provoking video. We had a Welsh Highland clearance called FORESTRY Commission which cleared vast communities and don't provide many jobs now. Welsh government want us to plant 10% of our best ground in tree's and make another10% habitat to have subsidies. We are good at growing food and making ECONOMY. Leave other countries grow the trees.

[@Eamo-21]

In Ireland here. This is happening here too. Great channel and you cover topics not on other channels. Keep it Up

[@farmstockofficial]

Thanks for the comments - much appreciated!

[@OllyBlogsAgricontractfarmer]

Such a well put together vid 👌

[@farmstockofficial]

Thanks Olly, much appreciated! 👍

[@JamesHeadington]

Great piece of filming and reporting on the current stuation🚜

[@farmstockofficial]

Thanks, glad you like it!

[@richardmatthews3304]

What's the story behind the tractor wheel in the shed

[@farmstockofficial]

If I'm honest, I don't know! It's never been used in my lifetime and I've never asked the question! ha! I'll see what I can find out. It's next to the shed that houses the generator so might have something to do with that.....

[@richardmatthews3304]

​@@farmstockofficialthe way it's placed it's there for a reason,

[@charlesyeo8252]

@@richardmatthews3304 I would have guessed it was put over the sheep dip to make sheep go under the water when you dip them.

[@richardmatthews3304]

@@charlesyeo8252 interesting do you think it would be slowly spinning

[@charlesyeo8252]

@@richardmatthews3304 In the video it looks like a chain drive on it and driving the wheel would stop sheep from drowning.

[@charlesyeo8252]

Very good report but you forgot to also add that at one time that hill subsidy was payed per sheep, as you say things change this payment per sheep encouraged farmers to over populate the hills to increase profit and gave hill farmers a bad name for over grazing. This has changed as you your film has just shown but the powers that be the brainwashed sheep in suits (politicians) think that it’s still over grazed and want to look good for the Sandal knitters with regenerative farming or rewilding. My wife has just finished a masters in botanical recording and did her thesis on farmland in environmental stewardship, the results showed that over grazing was bad and that no grazing was bad as weeds and strong grasses would smother small plants killing diversity.

[@struancochrane753]

It's a very hard balance to strike, especially as the weather pattern is changing. Rain seemingly falling less, but in more intense bands, increasing run off and flooding. Less snow so higher river water temperatures in the early spring.

[@farmstockofficial]

That's a fair point and you do need sheep on the land to graze it. Buccleuch Estates took sheep off part of it to encourage grouse only to realise 5 years later that they actually needed the sheep there to graze it. Thanks for commenting!

[@richardmatthews3304]

@@farmstockofficial watched a video from the sheep game he was scanning sheep on an estate and the only real reason the sheep were there was because of the grouse shoot. Both for grazing and helping control the ticks