THE AMOUNT of organic farmland in Scotland slightly increased in 2017, the first increase since 2008. A total of 123,000 hectares were certified as organic, meaning that organic land now accounts for 2% of the country's total agricultural land.

The new figures on organic farming were published by the Scottish Government, and showed that grass and rough grazing, used for producing beef, lamb or milk, makes up 93% of organic land, with cereals accounting for a further 4%.

The number of organic cattle remained fairly constant at about 29,000, but there was a significant increase in the number of sheep, up by one third to 154,000. About 2% of both cattle and sheep are organic.

There was also another increase in the number of licensed producers and processors, up from 560 in 2016 to 578 in 2016, of which 371 were producers.

There was also an increase in the area of organic farmland in the UK as a whole, with 3% of agricultural land now organic. In Europe, organic production has been consistently increasing, with the latest available data, for 2016, showing just under 7% of agricultural land used for organic farming.

Organic certifier OF and G, which certifies more than half of the UK’s organic land, said these increases showed that farmers were listening to consumer demand and acting on market interest.

In the face of so many policy and trading uncertainties posed by Brexit – and with Defra putting more focus on agriculture providing public goods – OF and G suggested that many farmers were seeing the potential of organic to offer strong and resilient business opportunities, cut inputs, and reduce costs.

“At current UK organic hectarage our estimates suggest around 300,000kg of synthetic pesticide active ingredients and 40,000 tonnes of artificial nitrogen are consequently not applied on Britain's farmland,” said chief executive Roger Kerr.

“Whilst yields and premiums ?uctuate in both organic and non-organic production, variable costs in organic cropping systems are around 40% of non-organic. The working capital requirement on organic farms is consequently only 35-40% of non-organic – something which is important given the uncertainties around Brexit.

“What’s more, more shoppers than ever are looking to buy organic food, and with the report showing a 29.4% increase in UK land currently under organic conversion, it suggests more land will become fully organic in the coming years, which is hugely positive for the sector.”