Hope vs Reality

Harvest of our barley, oats and wheat have been completed with some very settled weather in September. Unfortunately, once harvested, we are no longer in a “hope” phase where we hope that the yields will be better than expected, but instead move to “reality”, when we know they are less than hoped. After a late planting season, lack of sunshine in May and June, our crops were not off to a good start, and harvest was brief with the lowest yields seen since 2012. The same story is true across Europe and so expectations indicate shortages will cause price increases in the food industry. Our beans are still a few weeks away from harvest – so we remain in the “hope” phase for them.

Last month we hosted several farming and Bowhosue tours with Edinburgh University’s Sustainability group and the European Agriculture Conference delegates. These tours are always interesting as the visitors are engaging and curious. They ask challenging questions and interrogate every aspect of what we do at Balcaskie, which acts as a great sense check, especially when we are often less than conventional in our approach to land management.

 Earlier in September a few of us were invited to speak at Jersey Regen, a relatively new event aimed at increasing diversity of food produced on the island. For such a small island, it packs a big punch, with global reach and a commercial awareness which is impressive. Two main agricultural outputs dominate the island, potatoes and dairy but the climate and soil are versatile and with a population of 100,000 people the local market is significant. Before going, a few numbers were being crunched on our own ability to feed the local population. With a theoretical ability to feed 7500 people per year, similar to the population of our coastal villages, Balcaskie has more opportunity to add ingredients to its output.

Pitch-up! 2024 has expanded, with the addition of 6 new farms from across the UK joining Kingsclere and Balcaskie. The annual call to action from these farms, looking for new entrepreneurs to join them and increase the output from the land in a regenerative process will gain momentum in time. Often we are told that there is no land available for new entrants and at the same time, hear farmers complain that there is no new energy coming into the industry – so Pitch-Up! is designed to help match entrepreneurial energy with entrepreneurial landowners. At Balcaskie we are looking to add ingredients to the “plate” so we can provide a more balanced diet. So if you are keen to operate a mobile dairy, mobile poultry system or vegetable operation – please do get in touch.

The Dreel Burn project completed its final phase of watercourse improvement last month. A concrete Ford, installed in the 1960’s was removed, crushed and recycled. The ford created a physical barrier to the migration of fish and when the bun was in spate, erosion caused by tumbling water, created silt further down. At the same time, we took the opportunity to empty the silt trap further upstream ready for winter. Adding to the wetland area created earlier in the year, we have felled additional Sitka spruce trees and dammed a ditch to help provide a buffer area when rainfall is high.

On 19^th October , the Scottish Smallholders Festival will be held at Ingliston and the Butchery will be providing not only the usual meat offering, but also the BBQ will be fired up and feeding visitors. Although we have done a few BBQ’s now, this will be our first away from home and so a great opportunity to showcase our meat.