Our Wild Farming Life: Adventures on a Scottish Highland Croft

By: Lynn Cassells, Sandra Baer

Narrated by: Lynn Cassells

Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

As seen on the BBC’s This Farming Life.

The inspirational story of Lynbreck Croft - a regenerative Scottish farm rooted in local food, community, and the dreams of two women.

Lynn and Sandra left their friends, family, and jobs in England to travel north to Scotland to find a bit of land that they could call their own. They had in mind keeping a few chickens, a kitchen garden, and renting out some camping space; instead, they fell in love with Lynbreck Croft - 150 acres of opportunity and beauty, shrouded by the Cairngorms and deep in the Highlands of Scotland.

But they had no money, no plan, and no experience in farming.

In Our Wild Farming Life, Lynn and Sandra recount their experiences as they rebuild their new home and work out what kind of farmers they want to be. They learn how to work with Highland cattle, become part of the crofting community, and begin to truly understand how they can farm in harmony with nature to produce wonderful food for themselves and the people around them. Through efforts like these, Lynn and Sandra have been able to combine regenerative farming practices with old crofting traditions to keep their own personal values intact.

Our Wild Farming Life is what happens when you follow your dreams of living on the land; a story of how two people became farmers - and how they learned to make a living from it, their way.

©2022 Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer (P)2022 Chelsea Green Publishing Company

Critic reviews

"A ripping good account of the guts, luck and perseverance it takes to create a productive and healthy farm or croft that jumps the rails of our conventional industrial agriculture." (Nick Offerman, New York Times best-selling author of Where the Deer and the Antelope Play)

"I raced through this beautiful story with mounting awe and excitement...Pragmatism, honesty and openness to new and old ideas shines through on every page. I hope it inspires legions of new farmers." (Isabella Tree, author of Wilding)

"[This] is a warm yet realistic chronicle of the world of the small-time farmer, sharing a vision of how we humans can feed ourselves sustainably and ethically while living in harmony with the natural world." (Booklist)

Inspirational

You'll look at agriculture, your dinner plate, and your life differently after listening to Lynn Cassells tell the story of how she and Sandra Baer learned how to farm by learning how to live with nature, and with each other. We loved seeing them on "This Farming Life" without fully realizing how their spunky persistence enabled them to learn through success and failure. This book was even better than expected. Hearing Lynn voice her and Sandra's journey to self-sufficiency made us want to cheer for them all the more. Do yourself a favor and listen.

I loved this. :)

So incredibly inspiring. I loved that Lynn read the book. It made listening to the book even more special and gave it a tangible (taste touch smell) sort of feeling. Love what the two of you are doing and hope to be able to create a little slice of the same with my partner in our small community.

a page turner of progress!

I had just finished A Croft in the Hills written in the 60's and loved hearing about present day progress on the same age-old goals of living a meaningful life connected to our surroundings. So well written and well told. We will require more books ladies!

Lovely read

Thought about my growing up on a small New England farm where my mom farmed much the same as these farmers. I especially enjoyed the respect they gave to
the land and the animals.