Breckon farm

There is a farm near the beach which dates back a century or two, and there are plenty of animals on the farm. There are mainly: sheep, cattle, cats and dogs, the cows are not as easy to see in the winter but you are likely to see them if you come in the summer or in autumn but the sheep you will see all year round and the dogs are more likely to be seen more often than cows unless they are going for a run on the beach, but you probably could find the cats out and about. There are also different breeds of cows: Shorthorn, Aberdeen Angus, British Blue, and Limousin though most of them are Angus or Blue.

There are many different breeds of sheep that we keep on our farm such as: Lleyn, Black face, Cheviot, Suffolk, and Shetland.

We also have a small yard which we use to grow totties ( potatoes) and carrots which we use in making food like a classic Shetland dish "Tottie soup" as well as just eating them boiled with a bit of salt and butter.

James Nicholson says of working the farm at Breckon, "The easiest bit about it is that you're your own boss, but the hardest bits are the terrain and the weather because the terrain is tough enough, but the weather makes it worse, then in the winter that's where it is at its harshest. It is quite enjoyable, but it is not easy although it is a good way to live life because you get to see life being brought into this world and watch them grow. It is quite satisfying because you get to work with lots of animals and there is no number of days that are the same as the others. There are things that we do every day but even that is never the same, but there are things we must do differently to farmers in England for example because of the terrain and weather because there is not much ground up here that is suitable to farm plants and crops so all of produce is animal based because we have a shorter and colder growing season for crops compared to the UK mainland. There are some sheepdogs on the farm that work better with certain people then others while some will work with anyone: only one listens to my grandad, dad can control three at a time, but I can only handle working with two at a time. "

Being as far away from the equator as we are means that there is a very short growing season when it's winter there is also quite a challenge when it comes to the climate.

there are also other things that grow nearby but it is mainly grass and things for animals to eat which does make sense because the terrain and weather here do not make living an easy challenge, but we still survive as well as the plants, so I think they are doing quite well to live here like us.

The farm is made up of multiple crofts (fields of land) that are all diverse but all fit well together, in the last 20 years it's area has increased to having land for animals to graze on down on the mainland of Shetland.