This week, the spotlight falls on collective bargaining as tractor factory workers stage a walkout in pursuit of higher wages.

While it’s crucial for employers to honour their commitments, we must tread carefully not to inadvertently drive multinational corporations away from our shores.

Achieving a balance is key to preserving a decent volume of British manufacturing based on the principle to excel in producing what we’re skilled at, while importing what we cannot.

Shutting the doors to the wider world has never been in the national psyche, often to the farmers’ bane.

One undisputed area of our nation’s prowess is in food production, and that light continues to shine brightly. So much so that our delectable cuisine has even powered a rower to set a new Scottish record across the Atlantic! Learn more on page 57 as Fife’s culinary delights rule the waves – proving that home grown produce is the best way to fuel the body!

Underpinning our agricultural success is our ability to grow grass, the not-so-secret weapon of every prosperous livestock farm. The transformative power of grass cannot be overstated, capable of turning red balance sheets into black.

Despite understandable weariness after a demanding winter making farmers reluctant to traipse round fields with electric fences, we can enhance productivity by embracing the power of the green stuff.

Investing in such strategies can boost output per field by 10% to 15%. As one Argyll farmer puts it, if you are to buy or rent another 15% of your farm, rotational grazing looks like a bargain.

Dive deeper into grassland management in our special feature on pages 31 to 36, covering everything from mob grazing to compaction management.

In a broader sense, our agricultural success story isn’t just about food and grass – it’s also about the remarkable individuals propelling the industry forward. The farming sector thrives on the versatility of its workforce, allowing individuals to contribute to their family farms while pursuing employment elsewhere.

This dynamism enriches the industry, as demonstrated in our education and careers special on pages 37 and 38, highlighting the wealth of opportunities within the agricultural sphere.

Even with the challenges thrown at it, agriculture continues to be a great career choice for young people, with options teeming with variety, to say the least!

As our agricultural show season gains momentum, all this burgeoning talent and success converge every weekend.

Check out our coverage of Catrine and Neilston on pages 12 and 13. There’s no better place to celebrate our farming community than at shows and on-farm events.

Weekends – both ours and yours – will increasingly be taken up by shows up and down the country, and there are few better places to catch up with old friends, and share, or even relieve some of the stresses that can be found at home on the farm.

So as the days stretch and the sheds empty of livestock, take the opportunity to step off the farm and enjoy yourself.

After this winter, you certainly deserve it.