DAIRY FARMERS looking for business advice are being advised to speak to the Scottish Dairy Hub as it tours the summer agricultural shows.

Stuart Martin will be taking the Hub, funded by AHDB Dairy and the Scottish Government, to a number of shows over the coming weeks and expects to be in high demand: “Our service is growing with the Hub getting more enquiries than ever. In the first quarter of 2017 we answered over 50% more questions than we did during the same period of 2016.

“While we offer a great service over the phone and email, agricultural shows offer a great space to meet farmers face to face and we always get enquiries at every show. I expect this year we will answer questions on labour, as one in ten of our enquiries are on that topic, and we are still experiencing a skills shortage.”

This year’s Ayr County Show was the first stop on the tour and the Hub took a diverse range of enquiries.

“The sector is going through a transitional period at the moment and that was reflected in Ayr last weekend,” said Mr Martin. “We spoke to farmers from big and small farms, on a huge range of topics from grant funding to on farm processing. The Hub isn’t for one particular type of dairy farmer or issue, it’s for everyone in the sector.”

The tour will continue on to Campbeltown Show, Dumfries Show and Turriff Show, as well as at larger national events like the Royal Highland Show and AgriScot.