Agri Culture

Mary-Jane Lawrie is joined this week by Sammi Kinghorn MBE.  Sammi is a farmer’s daughter and Team GB wheelchair racer from the Scottish Borders.  We spoke the week after she was back from the Commonwealth games where she won bronze in the 1500m.  We chatted about her childhood on the farm, the accident that left her paralysed and how she got into wheelchair racing.  She has such a special bond with her Dad, who instilled a love of nature and farming into her at a young age, and now he supports her with her career.   

Related Resources FAS Resources

https://www.fas.scot/sounds/thrill-of-the-hill/ 

https://www.fas.scot/sounds/crofting-matters/ 

Related External Materials

https://www.sammikinghorn.com/ 

https://www.instagram.com/sammikinghorn/?hl=en 

http://www.bromakin.co.uk/ 

Mary-Jane Lawrie talks to Chris Dyer of Garths Croft, Bressay about how an Archaeologist from the South of England found himself owning a croft on Shetland.  He discusses some of the fascinating archaeology of the Shetland Islands, how he started out volunteering on farms, and what his life is like as a crofter.  Chris tells us about starting his croft, the livestock he owns, and how he has now opened up his croft to visitors, giving them a truly unique insight into crofting life and the history and archaeology of the local area.  

Peter Eccles is a farm manager from East Lothian.  He started out as an agricultural consultant with SAC, before taking on the farm manager job at Saughland Farm, Midlothian.  There he changed the farming system quite dramatically and went on to win the Farmers Weekly farm manager of the year and farmer of the year, and AgriScot Sheep farm of the year.  He recently moved jobs to Dalmunzie Estate, and upland farm estate in Perthshire