Resilience was a word used repeatedly at the Farmstrong Walk & Talk at Wester Braikie Farm on 23rd July.
Kicking off the day with a bacon roll and a cuppa the farmers attending caught up with those they knew and introduced themselves to those they didn’t. The morning started off with farmer Amy Geddes talking about her circular journey which brought her back to farm, some of the challenges she’s faced and the lessons she’s learned. Amy, a fourth-generation farmer farms 278Ha of spring barley, seed potatoes, vining peas, winter oilseed rape and winter wheat; with 25Ha of mixed woodlands and 14Ha of margins, fallow and hedges.
The family business has been a member of Scottish Agronomy for over 20 years, with Amy currently sitting on the Board of Directors and it was clear that this cooperative approach was beneficial to Amy’s business and the farmed land.
Scottish Agronomy senior agronomist Eric Anderson, who has been working with the family business for almost two decades, spoke to those attending about the challenges, changes and innovations at Wester Braikie. Eric’s knowledge and passion for soil and plant health and the collaborative approach adopted by Scottish Agronomy have helped Amy to grow trial plots, successfully grow their own seed, improve the soil health and adapt their varieties to improve crop resilience. Amy also took part in a soils course through Scottish Agronomy which she has found very beneficial.
A farm walk allowed both Amy and Eric to showcase the crop varieties, the landscape and the different opportunities which exist within the farm. Amy’s passion for integrating biodiversity into a productive farming business was clear with hedges, uncut areas, cover crops and natural crop defences all on display. This has paid dividends for the wildlife and the family have found different butterfly species, eels, newts, barn owls to name but a few.
On returning to the shed, Louise’s Farm Kitchen had lunch ready and there were some delicious strawberries kindly donated by Amy’s husband Frank’s neighbouring family farm. After a morning talking about business, crop and soil resilience, Farmstrong Programme Director Alix Ritchie talked about personal resilience. She discussed what wellbeing looked like for different farmers and crofters and shared some stories, resources and practical tips. Those attending then shared some of the things that drain their wellbeing bank account and some of the things that they do to invest in their account.
Thanks to Amy and family for hosting the Walk and Talk and to Eric for sharing his expertise.
