I recently visited a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a paediatric hospital for children with some of the rarest forms of cancer. At the heart of the hospital is a café, with freshly cooked food, much of it made with ingredients from the hospital’s garden. The...
For many it feels like the bastion of the North East’s farming sector is under an endured attack. Red meat, a dominant product from our local farms, should be banished as the dish of choice if you believe either the BBC’s documentary, Meat, a threat to our planet, or...
Scotland has 573 co-operatives with a combined turnover of £2.4bn. Co-ops have a reputation for being old-fashioned and for failing, yet, they are one and a half times more likely to survive their first five years than a conventional start-up business. The ethos of...
From early mornings shifting cattle before the school bus, to summer holidays touring round the local agricultural show circuit, nothing has shaped my life and personality more than being a livestock farmer’s daughter. 1. Livestock come first, but family is essential...
I’m not sure what I expected of South Korea when I visited last month, but a plan to have 84% of the country, including rural places, 5G enabled by 2025 wasn’t a statistic that I expected to scribble in my notepad. This marked intent by Korean’s political and...
This year I left behind the rolling hills of Rydal and swapped them for the sweeping beauty of Scotland. I’ve lived in Rydal since I was five years old and it’s where my family have been since we migrated out from Yorkshire in mid-1800’s. Rydal has a population of 50,...
Ringlink Scotland has appointed Jane Craigie to the cooperative’s board of 10 directors. Jane will be the first woman to join the UK’s largest business ring. Commenting on her appointment, Chairman, Andrew Moir, said: “The board unanimously endorsed Jane’s...
From father to son My life changed after asking my mother the simple question, “why are we not on the farm anymore?” Like most families, it’s difficult to explain our experience with succession. My ancestors, the Applebees, migrated to Australia from Yorkshire in the...
Now mid-week beer tent socials have halted, the young farmer summer syllabus closed and straw filled socks and wellies are slowly dwindling, that time of year creeps closer once again. This is the year they all say, the biggie. The partying dies down a little, the...
Minnesota is one of the most northerly states in the USA, it borders Canada and temperatures plummet to as low as -50oC in the winter blizzards and rise to as high as 46oC with tornado threats in the summer months. Historically, this mid-west state came to be known as...