A new survey has been launched to find out more about smallholders in Scotland and the land they manage. Smallholding Scotland, working with the Royal Society of Statisticians, has produced a wide-ranging survey that collects data about the people, the enterprises and the land that makes up the smallholding sector.

The organisation, which aims to represent, support and promote smallholding is urging all those responsible for managing small land areas to complete the survey.

Rosemary Champion, a member of the board of Trustees, said: “We’re not excluding anyone from completing the survey, so regardless of how many acres you manage, please get involved. Your land doesn’t have to be farmed or have livestock – if you are a small scale grower, have horses and ponies, or manage your land for wildlife or recreation, your input is very welcome.”

While the questions are quite detailed, the developers have limited the number of compulsory questions, so that anyone who feels uncomfortable about any questions can simply miss them out and carry on. Rosemary added: “We will share no individual data from the survey; only anonymised data will be shared. We hope folk will answer all the questions so that we can get the fullest picture possible.”

Data about small land holdings is limited; the main source of data is the Annual Agricultural Census, but many small land holdings are not registered with the Rural Payments Service.

The survey is now live on https://strathsci.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9sj0EpAf2Di9f25 and will be available until February 28. It takes between 20 and 30 minutes to complete, depending on how many comments are made in the free text areas.

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