OVER the past five years, the Scottish Government has, slowly but surely, come round to the fact that strategic planting of trees on hill farms is a much better way forward than its previous policy of blanket afforestation to try to meet highly dubious planting targets.
This approach is so much better in a whole raft of ways - it is helpful and acceptable to farmers and landowners; it enhances the whole social fabric of these remotest of areas; and, of course, it helps enhance the rugged beauty of these areas when wall to wall planting can only degrade it.
On a practical farm level, it also carries many pluses - qualification for the Basic Payment Scheme is obvious, but there are also the benefits of shelter belts, not to mention a harvestable cash crop further down the line.
Yes, there are genuine concerns regarding predators, but, in theory at least, small shelter belt type plantations should make control easier.
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