Farming at Cast

Initiating a series of talks on our environment, the speaker at Wednesday’s meeting of The Rotary Club of St Andrews was one of our own members, Alex Clark. Alex retired recently after forty-four years farming at Cast Farm, Leuchars. His talk set something of a record as it had been twenty-five  years since he last addressed the Club!

A holiday atmosphere prevailed at our special venue in the New Club. where we were joined by members of Kinross Rotary Club. Alex entertained us with excellent photos of the farm which enjoys a sheltered and very flat site. In olden times it had been all bog and swamp - the domain of mosquitoes. in fact.  Leuchars was the last place in Scotland to have a case of malaria. However, in 1785 local farmers drained the land. Cast Farm lies beside a great ditch, the word “cast” meaning ditch in old Scots. This feature,the Lundin Burn, runs for four miles between the Tay and the Eden even flowing underneath Leuchars main runway.

By the autumn, it can become choked up with vegetation. Each year this had to be cleared by hand  to ensure the water flowed. In more recent times SEPA didn’t want the ditch cleared, leading to disagreement and inconvenience when the stream became blocked.

Barley was his main crop and was used for malting by Ballantynes. Other crops were potatoes and broccoli. The northern three quarters of the Muir was planted with trees in the 1930’s. Alex acquired the remaining quarter from Mrs Purvis of Earlshall. All went well till SNH declared the area a triple SSI, preventing Alex from using fertiliser, ploughing or planting. It might even have made a fine golf course but the intention is to allow it to return to wilderness. He was permitted to keep up to forty cattle there. As it was totally organic and sheltered, the cattle enjoyed being outside and in such a favoured spot.

The Vote of Thanks was made by Dennis Hopper contributing an amusing anecdote connected to farming  from his time as a banker.

Lots of wonderful photos to highlight the farming life at Cast.

Meeting venue:  New Golf Club