Meet the couple producing the first Scottish cashmere in 30 years | Country Living UK скачать в хорошем качестве

Meet the couple producing the first Scottish cashmere in 30 years | Country Living UK

In a field nudging against sand dunes, above the sweep of Lunan Bay in Angus, a herd of goats feasts on a smorgasbord of native grasses and flowers. Jillian and Neil McEwan, co-founders of Lunan Bay Farm, bought their first goats to tend the land. By eating thistles, dock and invasive species, goats improve soil health. The couple had been growing crops, but they enjoyed keeping the goats so much that the animals are now a core part of their business. “When we started the farm, we were focused on improving the soil and providing nutrient-rich food direct to the public,” says Jillian, who used to work in drug development for the pharmaceutical industry. Now it’s also about regenerative textiles and agritourism. The McEwans keep 135 goats, including Boers, pygmies and cashmere goats. Some are descendants of the Icelandic cashmere goat herd in ‘Game of Thrones’. The animals live on two sites. Most, including Che Goatvara, one of the breeding bucks, are reared a mile down the road at the farm where Neil grew up. Neil initially worked as an engineer, before setting up a logistics and warehouse business, and eventually taking over the 600-acre arable farm in 2016. The smallholding came up for sale at a similar time. His family had grown cereal, but Neil wanted to diversify and explore regenerative farming. At first, the couple experimented with asparagus and trialled split peas to reduce the need for fertilisers. “We looked at all sorts of livestock to help the soil, but kept coming back to goats,” says Jillian. If they were keeping goats, they thought they could try producing cashmere. It would be the first cashmere produced in Scotland for more than 30 years. https://www.lunanbayfarm.com/ Shot by Alun Callendar See more at https://www.countryliving.com/uk/ Like us on Facebook:   / countrylivinguk   Follow us on Instagram:   / countrylivinguk   Follow us on Twitter:   / countrylivinguk   #artisan #countryliving #cashmere