The same dedication and attention to detail to contracted land as to their own has been the key to success for the family business at Learielaw Farm in West Lothian.
With four members of the Dandie family involved, Walter and brother Robert, along with Walter’s two sons David and William, the 500 owned acres have expanded through contract farming since 1993, and they are now managing 3,000 acres over seven neighbouring farms.
“We feel very lucky to get that opportunity to farm this land and that every farm we have taken on over the years has stayed with us,” says David Dandie. The furthest they need to move machinery is seven miles away. “[We are in it for the long term.] We treat every farm as if it were our own and because there are four of us in the business, I think there’s still a very strong family feel and drive to make the very best success we can.”
Recently winning Arable Farm of the Year, sponsored by SoilEssentials, at The Scottish Agriculture Awards, the Dandies were praised for their unwavering dedication to soil health and progressive farming.
On each of the farms the Dandies have taken on, they have pushed yields up within 2-3 years through improving soil health and efficiencies, using technology including field mapping and variable rate inputs.
“Our focus is very much on improving the land and soil to get the best yields,” says David. “We take a high input approach to get a high output. You don’t get that without investing into the ground, in the crops. We always like to get the soil into a better place than we find it and we use technology a lot where we can.”
The team includes six full-time on the farm, the four family members, and two other team members, a full-time artic lorry driver, and at peak times, three seasonal workers.
As the arable side of the business has grown, it has allowed the Dandies to invest in machinery and technology to improve practices and savings across each of the units, and the economies of scale have allowed them to farm the contracted acres more efficiently than the farms may be able to do themselves.
“When we were last making a decision on whether to invest in a combine to take on some extra acres, we sat down with the farmer to do the sums, and it was going to cost a lot less to farm per acre than he could do on his own as we can spread the costs across all the acres. Many of them see that they are getting a better return by not farming themselves. That’s not a great state for farming to get to but that’s unfortunately where it is, and for us, it’s rewarding to be able to help other farms to maximise their business.”
All the grain is treated and sold as one source for marketing, weighed as it comes off the contract farm. The Dandies provide all their farmers with a full breakdown and analysis of the production over the year.
“We can dial down into the detail, how the fields are performing or not performing. They’ve all been active farmers and are extremely interested in the farm so enjoy seeing this, and I think they see this as what we can bring to the table.”
The Dandies have always been interested in soil health for improving yields and taken a mixed farming approach to growing crops, incorporating dung into the rotation. They finish 500 head of cattle to supply two local butchers, Forsyths of Peebles and John Livingston & Sons at Whitburn, with the surplus going to St Boswells livestock mart and ABP. They also buy in 5000 tonnes of compost a year. Over the last 10 years, cover cropping has been part of the mix, with sheep grazing them in the autumn. The focus on soil health has become more detailed as technology around it has developed.
With their own digger and getting the laser detail, they can also carry out jobs like drainage as routine. “If we can gain an extra couple of acres by getting rid of a wet corner, it’s another improvement, and the whole field is better,” says David.
The Dandies have invested over the years in grain storage and sheds for modern machinery. Other changes have also been made to grow the arable side of the business. They stopped growing turnips and then potatoes in 2008, and breeding cattle have been replaced by store cattle to keep the muck in the rotation but with less commitment than calving needed. They also buy and sell straw.
The Dandies are not afraid to question what they are doing and change a system if it’s not working. They have always had a keen eye for figures and looking at the detail. There is a budget each year for each contract farm, and if the crops are not performing, they will look at what they need to tweak or do to get a better profit.
“We’re always up for giving new ways a go. Sometimes it works, and we learn from what hasn’t.”
He says as a family, they’ve always encouraged new ideas. When he started full time on the farm in 2001, after three years at Oatridge College when he was working at home in between times, David’s grandfather was still in the business.
“I wanted to try min till, and he said go ahead even though he was happy to tell me he didn’t think it would work. After a year or two, he admitted maybe it did! Now just over one third of the land we manage is min till.”
The award judges, AgriScot Director John Weir, last year’s winner, John Wilson of Over Rankeilour Farms, Cupar and Adrian James of AHDB, said:
“Learielaw stood out as 2025 Arable Farm of the Year because of true dedication to farm well and improve the soil. David and Willie lead with enthusiasm and a drive to modernise, applying the same high standards to contracted land as they do their own. With five family members sharing the workload, it’s a true team effort. Judges were impressed by the farm’s forward momentum, attention to detail, and clear ambition to expand and evolve.”
Sheep are currently grazing off the cover crops, and the next project for Learielaw, once drainage projects are finished off, will be starting winter ploughing.
