Farming has been carried on in Glenesk since long before records began and had changed little until comparatively recently. The soil is thin and poor on the hills. It could not have yielded much and even near the river the ground is stony but there still signs of the 'runrig' or 'lazybed' system in various parts of the Glen visible today.

Farms were small, as little as three acres in some cases, and until the 1780's when potatoes and turnips were grown, corn and bear (four rowed barley) were the principal crops. Before about 1760, when blackfaced sheep were introduced, small black cattle were grazed on the hills. Each family cut their own peats for fuel. Fir trees found in the peat hags were dried and not only used for fuel but cut into splinters and used for lighting. Oxen were used before horses and later both were used together.

There are only a few farmers left in Glenesk, the numbers having been halved in the past thirty years. As farmers retired or died the farms were merged with others to try to make viable units, but even so, most farmers or their wives have other jobs. Not so long ago barley, oats, hay, turnips, rape and potatoes were commonly grown in the Glen, but few crops are grown now. Each farm had its own milk cow and milk and butter could be sold to add a little cash to the coffers.

Regulations mean that unpasteurised milk can no longer be sold and no one now keeps a milk cow. Pigs were raised and fattened for killing and salted down to provide meat. This is no longer allowed. Cattle numbers are much reduced and sheep are now the main earners, although prices for lambs and wool are at an all time low. Since all the farms are tenant farms there is little scope for diversification, such as can be found on owner/occupier farms. The number of derelict houses and steadings in Glenesk are a sad reminder of how things used to be.