By Paul Spencer, sales director at Dingwall and Highland Marts and a member of IAAS

August and September are busy times for the sheep industry with farmers getting lamb stocks ready for market. The numbers through the rings here at Dingwall and Highland Marts are certainly testament to this as we got off to a buoyant start with our autumn sales last month.

From our first lamb sale on August 9, we’ve sold more than 92,000 store lambs through the rings across all our centres in Dingwall, Fort William, Portree, Lochmaddy and Stornoway. Despite the uncertainty surrounding Brexit things have remained steady and we’ve experienced a realistic trade for both buyers and sellers so we definitely can’t complain.

As the calf sales approach, with our first sale of 500 calves in Fort William today (Saturday) and a further 1400 calves on Monday in Portree, Isle of Skye, the pressure rises to achieve a satisfying trade for the producers in these rural areas. This is a constant challenge for us given the nature of the geography of our marts.

We place a lot of value on farmers selling through the ring and don’t want those in more rural locations to be unfairly penalised through distance. Our network of satellite markets in Lochmaddy, Stornoway, Portree and Ben Nevis make life a lot easier for our more remote customers and ensure they share the benefits of selling through the ring.

Satellite markets are just part of our wider strategy to future proof our business so we can adapt and respond to market challenges such as Brexit. We read with interest the Scottish Government’s new report #Route2050 this week setting out plans to increase resilience in the rural economy.

We couldn’t agree more with the sentiment of the report which aims to make rural businesses resilient, efficient and thriving. This is exactly what we’re doing here in the Highlands however, we firmly believe that this cannot be to the detriment of the fundamental aspects which make the auction system work.

This is simply about putting our customers first, taking time to get up and down the farm roads to speak to farmers, bringing the farming community together around the ring to buy and sell while enjoying all the social benefits of a day at the mart.