Galloway: Life in a Vanishing Landscape

Journalist Laurie relates a decade of experience raising native cattle in Galloway, Scotland. With his wife, he returns to a small farm in his hometown and chooses to plant a constant rotation of multiple crops in response to more popular and profitable single-species forest plantations. It is here that he raises a small herd of Riggit Galloway cows, an ancient breed long overlooked by breeders focusing on fast-growing animals. This demanding work leaves permanent marks on Laurie’s skin, alters his sense of sound, and changes the way he sees landscapes. He has a new vantage point in the continuing local disputes between farmers and foresters. In an area famous for its geology, he examines farming traditions and the role of folklore in passing down knowledge. As an illustrative example, Laurie uses curlews, birds who rely on tall grasses once common in the Galloway hills and are preyed upon by foxes—how does one balance the needs of curlew, fox, and farmer? Nick Offerman, who visited Laurie to see how a family farm supports sustainable agriculture, writes the introduction.