Well would you believe it - it's Tuesday, July 21, and the sun is actually shining!

Hopefully a sign that summer is going to actually visit us here in deepest darkest central Scotland.

Mid-July is always a good point in the year to stop and take stock of the first six months that have been; with 2015 being a land mark year for the farming sector - even if it has been for all the wrong reasons!

A disastrous CAP reform implementation, beef prices on the floor, volatile cereal prices, euro weakness playing havoc with lamb exports, and lets not even mention the milk price!

The current negativity and poor weather was obviously enough for Richard Lochhead, who at this year's Highland Show decided to skip the here and now and head straight for 2025, launching his 'Vision for Scottish Agriculture 2025'.

Now, where I do think there are perhaps more pressing matters (cough, land reform, cough) than what the agricultural industry in Scotland should look like in 10 years' time, I do believe that setting a long term plan for the industry will pay dividends, ensuring that all those who play a part in agricultural Scotland are singing from the same hymn sheet.

Since taking on the position of agri and rural affairs chairman from Scott Somerville in April, I have had the pleasure of meeting many enthusiastic and inspired members of SAYFC.

These are bright, intelligent, and highly motivated young people, who with a range in age between 14 and 30, are the exact generation that will be the play makers of Mr Lochhead's vision.

For this generation, this vision is more than just a piece of brightly coloured laminated paper; this vision is their future.

This vision for the future of the generation of farmers that are going to face some of the biggest pressures we have seen since the start of the last world war.

With the population in England set to increase by nearly five million people between 2015 and 2025, we are going to have the equivalent of another Scotland to feed, right in our back yard.

This challenge, however, of achieving the vision set by Lochhead et al, doesn't just rest on the shoulders of our young members, and indeed the vision itself fails to address one of the most fundamental problems our farmers have today - that being the humble consumer.

The consumer of today looks at a supermarket shelf, and picks a product based on price and convenience.

Almost no consideration is given by both supermarket and consumer to the origin of the product, if they did we wouldn't be in the abysmal position that during the height of the Scottish new season lamb period the local supermarket shelves are full of imported New Zealand lamb!

Consumer interest and knowledge on where their food comes from must change, and fast.

It has been known for a long time that the value of food has been forgotten, with consumers eating to make themselves full as cheaply as possible.

My challenge to Mr Lochhead and his peers in government is to change that consumer attitude. Our future generation of farmers are well educated by our colleges, inspired by their peers, and ready to take the first steps on the journey to completing this vision - but all this will be in vain if there isn't a similar generation of the general public willing to pay up for this fantastic high quality produce that they will be producing.

My vision for 2025, is that the long old saying that 'the farmer is the only person to buy everything at retail, sell it at wholesale, and pay the freight both ways' will be extinct; and that for the first time in my lifetime we will be selling produce above cost of production, and that my generation of farmers will be rewarded for the hours of toil they put in every day.

SAYFC has indeed embraced this vision set out by Mr Lochhead, and will be examining and debating it further.

Our second Agri and Rural Affairs conference takes place in Dundee on November 20-22, where the subject will be about inspiring the future.

Part of the conference will be centred around what delegates see as being their future in 2025, along with farm visits to some of the most successful and pioneering farming businesses in the UK.

2015 also sees the return of the domestic study tour; this year to Southern Ireland in October (application deadline is August 7); before preparing in 2016 to take another leap around the world on our international study tour, destination TBC (easily the hardest choice I have ever had to make).

One thing that no doubt will not change by 2025 is the only thing we can be sure of in Scotland….the rubbish weather!