Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Newbie award for croft ‘rooted in community’

AWARD WINNERS: Lynbreck Croft managers Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer were recognised for innovation
AWARD WINNERS: Lynbreck Croft managers Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer were recognised for innovation

A Highland crofting enterprise has been crowned New Entrant Farm Business of the Year.

The 150-acre Lynbreck Croft, located in the Cairngorms National Park and run by Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer, is the UK winner of the Europe-wide Newbie award for innovative new entrants.

Ms Cassells and Ms Baer will receive their award at the Royal Highland Show in June.

Their prize comprises 500 euros (£433) towards the cost of training or an international visit, an award plaque, farm video, and the chance to attend a European new entrants conference with other award winners.

“We are really delighted to have been given the Newbie award,” said Ms Cassells.

“We have worked so hard over the last few years to build the foundations of our new croft business, which we see as being rooted in nature and rooted in our community.”

Newbie award co-ordinator Dr Adam Calo, of the James Hutton Institute, said “Having spoken to many new entrants across the UK, I see Lynbreck as an example of how to leverage the existing and potential biodiversity, not just for the long-term benefits, but as legitimate income generation during the initial phases of their agricultural business.”

The shortlisted applicants were judged by farming union leaders from across the UK, including NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick.

He said: “It was a pleasure to be on the panel judging this award.

“To me, the winners had not a ‘thinking outside the box’ approach but instead a ‘there is no box there’ vision, which showed an unconstrained desire to squeeze every ounce out of their business.”

Two other UK businesses were commended in the awards and recognised as “exemplary innovative new entrants”.

These included the Banffshire-based Scottish Goat Meat Company, which provides high-quality, locally reared goat meat direct to customers’ doors.

Meanwhile, the next round of applications for the award is to open in autumn.