Scottish Sustainable Farm of the Year

R Mitchell and Sons, Whitriggs Farm, Scottish Borders

R Mitchell & Sons is a family business run by Stuart Mitchell, his wife Kate, and parents Robert and Lesley. They run Whitriggs Farm, a 442-ha mixed organic farm near Hawick in the Scottish Borders. The farm has a 140 suckler cow herd, 300 red deer, and 50ha of cereals. Over the last four years, they have moved to a low-input regenerative system with very low reliance on cost fluctuations. The livestock are pasture-fed only, require very little intervention, and are almost entirely wintered outside. Management changes such as mob grazing are helping improve the soil quality across the farm. The Mitchells are keen ambassadors for knowledge exchange between farmers and regularly host farm meetings. They have developed the farm into a resilient profitable business that is working with nature instead of against it.