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On Your Farm

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Getting to the heart of country life with a look at individual farming endeavours

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On Your Farm: 08/09/2013

08/09/2013

BBC Radio 4 - On Your Farm, 08/09/2013

Tessa Dunlop helps out with the gooseberry pick on a fruit farm in North Perthshire.

Tessa Dunlop travels to an upland fruit farm in her native North Perthshire, the last place in Britain to wake from winter, and helps out with the gooseberry pick.

Tessa Dunlop travels back to her native North Perthshire and meets Calum McDiarmid, who makes the most of the cool climate and late summer to grow bush fruit. Mains of Murthly farm near Aberfeldy is one of the last places in Britain to wake from winter, meaning Calum's plants benefit from a long, deep dormancy. By the time harvest arrives, his fruit bushes are well-rested and laden with gooseberries, redcurrants and blueberries.

Tessa helps out with the gooseberry pick and gets to practice her Romanian with the fruit pickers who spend their summer earning money in the fields. After weighing in a few trays of fruit, Tessa and Calum head out on to the hill to round up his flock of sheep - the traditionally Scottish side of his business. 

While sorting fat lambs for market, Calum shares his passion for farming in the Perthshire Highlands, and explains why livestock and fruit go hand in hand.

Presented by Tessa Dunlop and produced by Anna Jones.

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08/09/2013

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