Farmer Stories

Deborah Richardson-Webb - Running a smallholding in Scotland’s Southern Uplands

Nestled in the rolling hills of one of Scotland’s key farming counties, The Lint Mill is more than just a place for nature-friendly food production: it embodies its owners’ deep commitment to sustainable living in harmony with the planet.

The Lint Mill is an organic smallholding in Scotland’s Southern Uplands - a 15-acre oasis amid a landscape dominated by large-scale conventional farming. Run by Deborah Richardson-Webb and her husband Colin, it’s about much more than food production. Every aspect of The Lint Mill’s work reflects the ethos and values that Deborah strives to live by.

Originally from Manchester, Deborah taught drama and contemporary performance in higher education before moving to Scotland for work. Over time, she and Colin found themselves increasingly drawn to the outdoors. As Deborah rekindled her passion for horse riding and Colin took on an allotment, it became clear that a move to the countryside was the natural next step.

In 2009, Deborah and Colin found The Lint Mill in South Lanarkshire and made it their home. The site had previously been used for keeping horses, but Deborah quickly realised it held something more valuable -  extensive unimproved grassland that hadn’t been ploughed or treated with fertiliser for years. “It hadn’t been managed for the best-quality grass and had been overgrazed, but it was really untouched, and that felt like a gift,” she recalls.

Determined to run The Lint Mill as a smallholding where they could grow their own food and rear their own meat, Deborah immersed herself in learning about nature-friendly farming. She connected with like-minded farmers, including NFFN Scotland chair Denise Walton. She also joined a scheme that allowed her to sow a species-rich grassland mix and took steps to regenerate the native seed bed.

Deborah admits that her early days running a smallholding were something of a baptism of fire. She recalls sitting on a hillside, book in hand, reading about lambing as her first flock of Shetland sheep gave birth before her eyes. Her first group of ducks also provided an unexpected challenge when they had to be rescued after being swept downriver. Yet, these experiences proved invaluable. “It’s become a leitmotif for us: take your time, build up enterprises slowly, and make sure you know as much as possible before you start,” she reflects.

Today, The Lint Mill is home to 30 sheep - a mix of Soay and Castlemilk Moorit breeds - alongside Royal Golden Guernsey and Bagot goats, hybrid hens, and plans to re-establish a native-breed flock. The smallholding also buys in piglet weaners, raising them through the summer for pork.

For Deborah, native breeds are essential in a world facing climate uncertainty. “Genetic diversity among farm animals is so important when everything is moving towards monoculture. With the planet warming, who knows which pig or cow will hold the key to ensuring we can feed ourselves in the future?”

The Lint Mill is about sharing all of our approach to nature-friendly farming and environmental living - the choices we make in how we live our lives.

Deborah Richardson-Webb

While the farm is too small for full mob grazing, Deborah manages the land animals through a rotating paddock system. The sheep follow the goats to help prevent problems with parasites while the pigs operate on a three-paddock system. “In terms of regenerative agriculture, cows are the missing link for us, but we just don’t have the space,” Deborah says.

In addition to the animals, The Lint Mill boasts a large kitchen garden, an operation that began in their first year with the installation of a sizeable polytunnel. Deborah later designed a series of raised beds, adopting a no-dig system. “It completely complements regenerative agriculture,” she explains. “It’s about keeping the soil covered, keeping roots in the ground and feeding the soil - applying all the key principles of soil health.”

The smallholding grows a diverse range of crops, including brassicas, onions and shallots, sweetcorn, artichokes, squashes and asparagus, while the polytunnel provides a sheltered space for tomatoes and other delicate plants. However, Scotland’s unpredictable weather presents ongoing challenges. “We have to choose hardy varieties because we’re quite high up here and we’re also in a frost pocket. We’ve lost crops in the polytunnel as late as May even with the seed trays covered.”

Most of The Lint Mill’s meat is sold locally, while much of the kitchen garden’s produce and fresh eggs feeds Deborah, Colin, as well as their guests at the B&B. Initially launched for cashflow reasons, the accommodation has since become a central part of the smallholding.

The single self-contained suite is now a four-star holiday retreat, where guests can enjoy breakfasts, dinners and afternoon teas made from The Lint Mill’s own produce, alongside food from other local, nature-friendly producers. The smallholding also holds a prestigious gold rating from Green Tourism, reflecting its commitment to sustainability - from using organic and chemical-free cleaning products to considering the eco-friendliness of everything, from toilet paper to water-efficient showers.

But it’s not just the overnight guests who get to experience The Lint Mill. The venue also hosts a variety of courses, from smallholding essentials and foraging to wellbeing retreats and immersive nature experiences. For Deborah, this brings together different aspects of her life: her work as a smallholder, her background in arts education and her involvement with Natural Change, a leadership programme focused on deepening personal connections with the natural world. Just as importantly, it allows her to share the ethos of smallholdings.

“It’s about sharing all of our approach to nature-friendly farming and environmental living - the choices we make in how we live our lives,” says Deborah. “People who visit are often at a crossroads, looking to make a change, or they have romantic notions of rural life and want to explore the reality.

"I’m about to start doing nature journaling courses, and we’re also offering a mindfulness day retreat. It’s all about encouraging people to truly slow down and see nature, not just look at it. Living this way and creating these experiences also helps me deal with my own profound climate anxiety.”

Deborah explains that everything at The Lint Mill must strike a delicate balance - aligning with her values of sustainable living while remaining financially viable. “I always want to run courses that nourish my creativity, because otherwise, it would just feel like a commercial enterprise,” she says. “But whether it’s the courses or the animals; each little enterprise has to cover its own costs. We rear four pigs, sell three and keep one for ourselves and the B&B. The amount we spend on hen feed can’t exceed what we’d pay if we simply bought eggs. Everything has to be able to ‘wash its own face’, so to speak.”

Deborah is currently focused on developing more wetland habitat to boost biodiversity around The Lint Mill, alongside ongoing efforts to develop the hedgerows. For her, the key is to move away from intensive, monocultural agriculture by fully embracing the potential of small-scale farming for both food production and nature. “At this micro scale, all the working parts have to fit together, and that can be quite complex. We know that diversity is inherently complex, and we need to embrace that - recognising its strength, while acknowledging the flaws of simplified, mono-dimensional systems and thinking. For me, every new project we take on here weaves into everything else I’ve done, both practically and philosophically.”

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