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RSABI is a unique Scottish charity dedicated to the relief of hardship and poverty
amongst people who have depended for their livelihoods on the land.
What was the challenge?
Starting from the Scottish National Ploughing Championships in East Lothian on 25 October teh intention was to plough between 12 and 15 acres in each of Scotland’s 33 “traditional” rural counties before Christmas. Ploughing is a very symbolic act in the farming cycle, the first stage of preparation for the next crop, whether grass grain or roots. Few other operations bring people so very close to the land on which we all, in one way or another, depend. The plan was to plough in one county each day, travelling into the evening to the next venue and using weekends as catch-up time to cope with any problems encountered. This was at least the theory, but as so many Scottish farmers are well aware the weather has ultimate control of what happens and when. In reality the weather did not present as many difficulties as it might have done, and it was only in Aberdeenshire that we really failed to plough as much land as intended.
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