JANUARY
2016 BEGAN with farmers waiting by their letterboxes for a Scottish Government letter giving an estimated value of their entitlements under the new area-based Basic Payment Scheme. However, the task of deciding which Payment Category should be assigned to every single parcel of productive land in the country was proving a bit of a headache for civil servants, and farmers were warned that it could be April before everyone had 100% of their BPS. This was to prove to be something of an underestimate...
Meat wholesalers' leader Alan McNaughton fired a shot across the bows of livestock farmers who had been griping about price penalties for stock that hadn't hit the right specifications, or which had exceeded movement limits demanded by retailers. "Frankly, once retailers lay down an agreed set of requirements, we either meet them as producers and processors, or we give up and do something else," he warned.
At the same time, local butchers, as represented by the Scottish Federation of Meat Traders chief executive Douglas Scott, voiced their discontent with Quality Meat Scotland, and its preoccupation with getting PGI Scotch beef and lamb into supermarkets and discount stores, undercutting family-run businesses. "Our premium product is being sold as a discounted product, and our craft butchers are finding it difficult to compete, although we would claim that our beef is better," said Mr Scott.
Torrential rain turned many Scottish farms into swamps, as river after river burst its banks over a chaotic first week of the New Year. NFU Scotland took the opportunity to once again ask the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to reconsider its restraints on river maintenance works.
Defra food and farming minister Liz Truss spoke at the Oxford Farming Conference, and was repeatedly questioned over what steps her department had taken to prepare a substitute agricultural policy that could be used in the event of the UK electorate voting to leave the European Union. Ms Truss said that the government was focussed on renegotiating the UK's deal with the EU, with the intention of persuading voters that we should stay – and admitted that no work was being done on a 'Plan B' to cope with the the other possible outcome.
Young Argyllshire farmer Fraser Brown spoke out about being “badly let down” by the Scottish Government's process for awarding top-up payments under its new entrants scheme. Fraser, 32, of the tenanted 2500 acre Shellfield Farm, near Tighnabruaich, had been awarded a top-up payment of £250, but claimed it would cost him almost as much to prove that he was eligible to receive it.
A Suffolk ewe lamb weighing a whopping 9.9kgs was born on a County Armagh farm. Owner Nigel White and his fiancee Diane Halliday took 30 minutes to assist the poor ewe with the birth, though all ended up healthy. Taking the farm's pedigree flock name, it was christened Monoclone Mighty.
The Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs was left reeling at the news that the Scottish Government had rejected its application for a £66,000 grant from its education budget. It was the first time in approximately 70 years that the association had looked towards a year without any support from the taxpayer.
But within a week, there was a breakthrough, as rural affairs CabSec Richard Lochhead stepped in, replacing half of the lost education budget money with a more agriculturally-flavoured grant to support an SAYFC programme of farm and rural training.
Members of the Scottish Women's Rural Institute remained at loggerheads with their leadership over the move to rename the organisation as simply the Scottish Women's Institute. At grassroots, there was rebellion as local branches refused to change their names to suit – but in head office there was bemusement, as office-bearers pointed to the long paper chain of consultations and member surveys that had underpinned the idea.
Muller Wiseman announced the first major milk price cut of the year, knocking a penny off their farmgate litre, taking its direct producers down to an unimpressive 20.69ppl. Other companies were rumoured to be planning their own cuts, and pundits warned that there was no early hope of a turnaround.
Scotland's landowners spoke out against suggestions that farm tenancy assignations might be opened up to allow tenants with no obvious successor to pass them, at a price, to a new entrant or progressing farmer. Giving evidence to Holyrood's rural affairs committee, Scottish Land and Estate's argued that such a change would pose a "major and unnecessary threat" to the future of tenant farming, because it would put landlords off renting out land in the first place.
Eight tenant farmers caught in the legal fankle created by the 2003 farm tenancy legislation, and its challenge and subsequent reversal as a result of the Salvesen v Riddell court case, announced their intention to take the current SNP Scottish Government to court over its failure to compensate them for the mistakes of the 2003 Labour-Liberal administration.
FEBRUARY
AYRSHIRE'S independently minded dairy buyer Sorn Milk was revealed to be in perilous state, as its 55 producers were told of the impending two pence per litre price cut needed to keep the firm's head above water – taking their farmgate price to a lamentable 14ppl. Owner David Shaw described the situation as 'tragic': "Sorn is not alone in the position it finds itself. All Scottish dairy farmers who don't have the comfort of a supermarket contract are in deep trouble," he said.
As 2015's farm support payments continued to dribble out of Saughton House, NFU Scotland called on Holyrood's cross party rural affairs committee to summon CabSec Richard Lochhead to account for his department's ongoing problems with delivering the reformed CAP to Scottish farmers. Mr Lochhead in turn announced that he had hired extra staff to speed the job on, and set up 'seven days a week' working to boot. But there was no avoiding the fact that relations between the industry and ScotGov were rapidly souring.
Supermarket giant Tesco abruptly ended its milk supply agreement with Arla, and gave the business to Muller Wiseman instead. Great news for Muller, but not so good for hopes of a milk market recovery, as Arla sought to find a new home for 200million litre of spare milk.
Tempers were fraying in the land reform debate, as the various representative bodies attempted to influence the politicians scrutinising the new farm tenancy legislation with ever-escalating language of doom and desperation. Landowners body Scottish Land and Estates weighed in with the suggestion that allowing the assignation of tenancies for value would be a "generational betrayal" by the country' politicians. Not to be outdone in the use of amplifying adjectives, the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association accused the landowners of "hysterical scaremongering".
In the end, the more tenant-friendly aspects of the legislation sailed through parliamentary scrutiny, and the STFA said that, after the barrage of dire predictions from the landowning lobby, it was time for everyone to try to "understand and appreciate" the new regime.
Black Isle Show's organisers came under attack from light horse exhibitors, outraged by the decision to drop their classes from the event's schedule. Show directors said that the light horses had been making an unsustainable 'five-figure loss' – but the lady leading the campaign of complaint, Joeanna MacDonald, claimed that recent rule changes had wilfully set out to make the section unviable.
Graham's the Family Dairy unveiled a deal with coffee-shop behemoth Starbucks, under which all 68 of its Scottish outlets would offer only Graham's milk to customers. CabSec Richard Lochhead applauded the move, which was exactly the kind of thing he had been hoping for when he wrote to food service companies asking them to up their Scottish sourcing.
Scottish Solicitor General Lesley Thomson QC pledged to find those responsible for farm machinery thefts by following their 'money-trails' abroad. Commenting on her review of the legal system's response to agricultural crime, the QC said that there was no doubt machines were being stolen to order by organised, often international criminal gangs, and that problem thus needed specialist prosecutors capable of complex financial tracking.
A proposal to double the size of the Pentland Hills Regional Park was voted down by the Scottish Parliament. Both NFUS and SLaE warmly approved the decision: Whilst on the map it might make sense to extend the regional park to cover the entire Pentland Hills Park range, an extended park would require responsibility and resources, neither of which can be provided by the managing authorities nor the farmers and custodians of the land," said the union's Kerry Barr.
Motion sensitive cameras were switched on at sites across the Highlands this month, as a major survey of Scotland's wild cats – and the feral cats interbreeding with them – began. With 300 cameras set to run for 60 days, organisers described it as the 'biggest ever' project to gather data on these elusive beasts.
Directors of the Royal Highland Show gave their backing to a number of recommendations designed to curb drink-related misbehaviour at the flagship event, and set in train a review of the 'size and structure' of the Ingliston showground's licensed premises. We didn't realise right away, but time had just been called on the Herdsmans' bar...
Former EU chief scientific adviser, Professor Dame Anne Glover, took the Scottish Government to task over its decision to ban the cultivation of genetically modified crops: "I am not an advocate for GM – I am a scientist," she insisted. "But the impact of GM could be outstanding in terms of better and more resilient crops, better animal farming and more nutritious foods."
Richard Lochhead made his by now traditional appearance at the NFUS annual general meeting, but the atmosphere was much more tense, given the ongoing problems with delivery of 2015 farm support payments from the reformed CAP, and the mounting pressure from the union for someone to take the blame. But, to the vast disappointment of opposition politicians and assembled southern media, Mr Lochhead held his ground, defended his record and point blank refused to accept that ScotGov's payment computer was beyond hope.
MARCH
Prime Minister David Cameron announced the actual date of the national referendum on European Union membership that he had promised in his manifesto ahead of the UK elections – June 23. By coincidence, this was also the scheduled opening day of the 2016 Royal Highland Show. It was going to be a big day indeed.
Scotland's new Beef Efficiency Scheme was due to begin in April, with a budget of £45 million to spend. But farmers were publicly expressing doubts that the scheme would be worth the trouble, particularly as those signing up would only be getting three years of payments in return for five years of following the scheme's rules.
NASA scientists revealed details of a particularly special potato breeding programme, in collaboration with the International Potato Centre in Peru. Its aim was to identify and refine potato cultivars that might, in the not-so-distant future, be used to produce crops on the planet Mars, if and when humans reach there and set up camp. The programme used soil from Peru's La Joya Pampas, an area of desert where the harsh, dry and nearly nutrient-free conditions provided a rough approximation of extraterrestrial farming.
There was outrage over the revelation that, despite there being plenty of good Scottish grain available, at least two of the country's major distillers were still importing maize from overseas. Former NFUS cereals committee chairman John Picken fumed: "Maize for distilling cannot be grown in Scotland, and therefore the whisky produced from maize should not be eligible for labelling as 'product of Scotland'."
With barely a quarter of Scotland's 2015 share of the CAP budget actually paid out to farmers, thanks to the ScotGov rural payments computer continuing to act like a very expensive paperweight, plans were hatched for a farmer protest outside Holyrood, targetting MSPs just as their minds turned to winning votes in the imminent May elections.
But before the rally could take place, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon intervened, finding £200million from ScotGov's own funds to make advance payments of any farm support not paid out by the main system by the end of March. NFUS president Allan Bowie welcomed the move, declaring: "The logjam is broken." The protest outside Holyrood still went ahead – Scots Tory MSPs had already had placards printed, and it would have been a shame not to wave them about a bit – but the heat had been taken out of the issue.
Livestock worrying incidents were at their highest reported level for six years, NFU Scotland pointed out this month, as it launched its spring campaign imploring dog owners to act responsibly while walking their mutts near fields of youngstock.
'This Farming Life', a new TV documentary series following the everyday goings-on of a variety of Scottish farming folk, began its 12-week broadcast run on BBC2. The series was to prove a huge hit, making somewhat unlikely stars of its cast of muddy-booted men and women.
The Church of Scotland's announced plans to appoint its first ever dedicated 'farming minister', who was to be based at Ayr Mart and be on-hand to help farmers deal with the stresses and strains of these fraught times. The Moderator of the General Assembly, Rev Dr Angus Morrison said that if the Ayr posting was a success, the idea might be rolled out to other parts of the country.
Following on from their promised crackdown on drunken misbehaviour at the Highland Show, RHS directors finally confirmed that their planned rejig of Ingliston's licensed premises meant the end of the line for the Herdsman, or anything of "similar capacity and entertainment". Show manager David Jackson said that the bar had been allowed to run 'much like a niteclub' in recent years, but that with the show dance back on site, theere was no longer any need for it. Social media briefly flared up with YF threats to boycott the show over the decision.
George Lyon, former NFUS president and latterly a LibDem Member of the European Parliament, landed a new role, when his existing board position at AHDB was ratcheted up to the chairmanship of its Meat and Livestock Commercial Services subsidiary.
APRIL
WITH their eyes firmly fixed on May's Scottish parliamentary elections, the Scottish Conservative Party promised farmers and landowners that its MSPs would pursue a 'major relaxation' of planning permission on agricultural land, and in particular an exemption for retiring farmers that would allow them to build a home on their land for after they hand over the farmhouse to their successor.
Dairy giant Muller, which had in recent years absorbed Scotland's prosperous Wiseman fresh milk empire, added to the dairy sector gloom by cutting its farmgate price to below 20ppl for the first time in the memory of the previously well-rewarded Wiseman loyal.
A week later, Wiseman's old roster of north-east dairy farmers felt an even chiller wind blowing, as the new bosses at Muller announced plans to wind down operations at the Tullos plant in Aberdeen – and suggested that, if they still wanted their milk picked up, it would cost them 1.75ppl to have it tankered down to the company's Bellshill base.
Supermarket chain Tesco was taken to task over its latest marketing wheeze – a range of farm branding that suggested to shoppers that all its beef came from 'Boswell Farms', all its vegetables from 'Redmere farms' etc. Unfortunately, these farms and their thoroughly 'English rural' imagery were utterly fake, and covered a multitude of food sourcing sins. Would it not have been better, argued farmers leaders, if Tesco had put some effort into establishing some genuine farm provenance?
A row erupted in the wake of a Shorthorn cattle dispersal sale in Carlisle, when the various purchasers of a batch of 150 cattle from the Ballylinney herd found that the British Cattle Movement Service had cancelled the passports of some of the beasts due to 'discrepancies' in their birth dates and disease testing times, rendering them virtually worthless as pedigree stock. The Beef Shorthorn Society, mortified that such a high-profile sale had gone so spectacularly wrong, initiated an internal enquiry.
With lambing underway, a petition calling for ravens to be added to the General Control Licence got enthusiastic support from the farming public. There were far too many of the birds marauding around lambing fields, shepherds agreed, and it was high time that their protected status be relaxed to allow farmers to defend their youngstock and mothers from being unpleasantly pecked to death.
Perthshire's Bruce Farms, one of the biggest potato growers in Scotland, was announced as the host for the AHDB's new Strategic Potato Farm, a practical 'farmer-driven' project to let farmers examine and discuss new techniques and crop research.
Startling new evidence revealed that domestic violence was not, as often portrayed, a solely urban problem. Figures from a national domestic abuse helpline suggested that the number of UK farmers' wives calling in looking for help had gone up by 17% in the space of a year – and that perhaps did not even begin to quantify the number who had yet to pluck up the courage to make the call.
Sheep farmers spoke out strongly against the well-publicised proposals to have wild lynx reintroduced to the British countryside. Responding to the Lynx Trust's campaign to win public and political support for the predator's reintroduction, the National Sheep Association's Sybil MacPherson warned that the delicate balance between farming and nature was in danger of being tipped into an "unmanaged wilderness that is of no use to man nor beast".
Scotland's crofting counties' surface air of peace and quiet endeavour was abruptly shattered this month, as the Crofting Commission intervened in two townships, suspending the common grazings committees of Upper Coll and Mangersta over their financial record keeping. Temporary constables were put in their place to put the books in order – and, it emerged, to investigate how shareholders' money had been spent. The resultant row is rumbling on to this day...
Professor Wayne Powell was appointed as the new principal and chief executive of the SRUC. At the same time it was confirmed that Janet Swadling, who had been acting principal, would formally become his deputy.
MAY
Farmers were warned never to give out their bank details over the phone or in emails, as a spate of fraudulent approaches from people pretending to be Royal Bank of Scotland staff hit farming households in the Lothians and Borders. With ScotGov's advance farm payments successfully paid out, farm bank accounts offered a tempting prospect to criminals with access to communications tech trickery.
In the troubled wake of the botched Ballylinney Shorthorn sale, the breed society announced that it was expelling the herd's owner, Derek Steen, for 'wilfully misrepresenting' his cattle's age and health status.
Mike Gallacher, one year into his stint as First Milk's chief executive, was beginning to look like the best decision the dairy co-op had made for several years. Under his guidance, the troubled business was finally back in the black and, cautiously, talking of its plans to reward the loyalty of its long-suffering producers with an improved milk price.
Despite a 'veneer' of action, the Scottish Government was still failing to honour its obligations under the Equality Act as regards farmers afflicted with the reading and writing disorder, dyslexia. Sandy McCreath, the farmer who had emerged as unofficial spokesman for rural folk struggling with official form-filling, said that promises of simpler paperwork and more hands-on help had failed to materialise.
For the second year running, ScotGov opted to extend the deadline for submission of farmers' Single Application Forms for CAP support schemes, knocking it on a month from May 16 to June 15, to take account of the ongoing delays and difficulties with the new mapping system demanded by the shift to area-based payments.
After initial doubts, industry leaders put their weight behind the new Beef Efficiency Scheme: "There are many merits to the aims of the scheme and much of what farmers are asked to do will benefit their business, said NFUS livestock chairman Charlie Adam. The SBA's Scott Henderson added: "The SBA is 100% behind the aims of the BES. It gives additional subsidy support equivalent to £32 per calf for at least the next three years."
The Scottish Elections saw Holyrood reconvene with the power balance slightly shifted. The SNP were, of course, returned to power without serious challenge from the opposition parties, but its previous majority was eroded, and the prospect arose of cross party deals and alliances that might be needed to get things done.
Holyrood's post-election changes went right to the heart of the farming sector's relationship with ScotGov, as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accepted Richard Lochhead's resignation, ending his marathon stint as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, and put Fergus Ewing in his place, albeit with the slightly adjusted brief of Rural Economy. In a parallel move, Dr Aileen McLeod's environment and land reform post went to the formidable Roseanna Cunningham, signalling a distinct change of tone in the SNP's approach to rural politics.
Although Mr Lochhead's withdrawal from ministerial duties was without doubt the result of his genuine wish to care for his wife as she recovered from serious illness, it unavoidably gave the impression that he was taking the fall for the failings of the ScotGov rural payments computer, which the Auditor General had just damned with the verdict that it was "unlikely to deliver value for money" for Scotland's taxpayers.
Scotland's small band of cherry farmers voiced optimism that their sector was about to enjoy a sales boom, bolstered by fresh backing from upmarket retailer Waitrose, recently planted orchards approaching maturity and a great show of cherry blossom in the spring.
Veterinary disease surveillance centres in both Inverness and Ayr were reprieved by the SRUC, following some outcry over the proposed plan to rationalise the college's vet labs. Further, rather than shutting them down, the SRUC had resolved to upgrade the facilities. "We have got what we wished for and it is now up to farmers, crofters and vets to make full use of this excellent resource," said NFUS Highland regional chairman Jim Whiteford.
After 37 years of campaigning, the Women's Food and Farming Union announced that it was to close. Formed in 1979 by three Kent farmers' wives, angered by the flood of imported French apples, the organisation had worked diligently to create links and loyalty between the UK's primary producers and their consumers. However, dwindling membership – and parallel efforts by more focussed, product-specific farmer organisations – had seen the WFU drift out of relevance and a vote at a special general meeting had decided, by a narrow margin, to wind things up.
Roseanna Cunningham made her first public appearance in the role of Scottish minister for land reform, speaking at Scottish Land and Estates spring conference. She said a lot that sounded conciliatory to the huddled landowning masses, still smarting from the reverses the land reform legislation process had visited upon them. However, she made it plain that she considered over-concentrated land ownership to be at the root of many of the countryside's problems, and said that if the current round of reform didn't produce the desired results, ScotGov would use the undoubtedly strong support of the general public to go further.
Ingliston's MacRobert Pavilion hosted an epic clash of political heavyweights, as European farm commissioner Phil Hogan and former Defra Secretary of State Owen Paterson turned up to debate the pros and cons of the UK's membership of the EU. Their styles were sharply contrasting; pro-Brexiteer Mr Paterson painted a vivid picture of the land of milk and honey that awaited British farmers outside the bureaucratic reach of Brussels, while Mr Hogan quietly pointed out that, for all its failings, the EU was committed to supporting its farmers, whereas the UK Treasury had a longstanding ambition to stop doing so.
JUNE
NORTH UIST hosted a very special tractor ride-out, as the island's farmers and crofters turned out in force to commemorate the life of local girl Ellie MacDonald of Ardbhan, who had tragically died, aged 23, after a short battle with cancer. No less than 49 tractors took part, creating a mile-long procession round the island, watched by hundreds of wellwishers. The day, organised by the North Uist Agricultural Society, raised no less than £6000 towards the 1 Million Miles for Ellie campaign started by her mum, Michelle.
There were still too many overweight cattle being presented at abattoirs, warned McIntosh Donald's Portlethen site director Alan McNaughton. The former SAMW chief said that the future of the Scotch premium depended on farmers getting the message about hitting spec: "Scotch beef is renowned for quality and it is vital that we maintain that reputation by delivering what the market wants and ensuring our product continues to earn a premium."
Perthshire farmer Martin Kennedy made a plea for the powers-that-be to seriously consider the introduction of minimum pricing for farm produce: "For far too long, farmers and their products have borne the brunt of supermarket price wars. If we want to have a sustainable agricultural industry that not only produces food to an extremely high standard, but also looks after our environment, this has to stop now."
With the Highland Show on the horizon, the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society Scotland named Alan Laidlaw as its new chief executive. Previously head of property at the Crown Estate, Mr Laidlaw was described as the "ideal candidate" for the job.
Scotland's largest solar farm to date, on 70 acres of the Errol Estate in Tayside, was officially switched on by newly appointed energy minister Paul Wheelhouse. The 13megawatt photovoltaic scheme has the capacity to generate enough power for 3500 homes.
David Shaw's independent dairy venture, Sorn Milk, admitted defeat and shut up shop this month, after 22 years of defying the milk industry mainstream. Despite his rebellious stance, Mr Shaw had been caught up in the same downward price spiral as the rest of the sector, but had lacked the resources to shield his 49 producers from the worst of it. When his farmgate price had looked set to drop below 10ppl, he faced a mass defection to spot market experts Yew Tree.
With the memory of the previous winter's floods still raw – and much of the damage done still very evident – the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and NFU Scotland reached agreement on a new package of river management rules that might help reduce the impact of future downpours. In particular, the agency, which had a reputation for stringently opposing dredging operations, agree to re-examine the role of gravel bars in causing farmland floods, and what might be done to help.
Tenant farmers considering retirement were advised not to 'jump the gun' by the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association's Angus McCall. While the recent land reform package had created new compensation arrangements for farmers leaving a tenancy, they had not actually come into force yet, and leaving before the new regime took hold would very likely not result in the best possible exit deal.
After years of dairy sector doom and gloom, Chester-based milk buyer Meadow Foods announced a two-pence per litre increase in the price it would pay farmers. Everyone crossed their fingers and hoped that here, finally, was a sign that the industry's dark days were coming to an end.
Scottish beef deserved an upgrade to the highest possible health status, the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers argued this month, as the herd had been free of cases of BSE since 2002, and no longer justified the 'controlled risk' classification hanging around its neck. And if that meant leaving England and Wales behind – due to their more recent 20009 cases – well, oh dear, what a shame, never mind.
Scotland's farming sector gathered at Ingliston for the annual fun and games of the Royal Highland Show, where they awoke on the Friday morning of the show to the stunning news that the UK electorate had voted to leave the European Union, taking the agricultural industry out from under the financial protection of the Common Agricultural Policy, and raising serious questions about whether it would still have easy access to the European Single Market of 500 million consumers. Opinion was divided about whether to celebrate or drown sorrows, but either way, the re-organised bars of the Ingliston Showground coped admirably...
JULY
WEEDKILLER glyphosate, long the focus of campaigning by pressure groups seeking a total ban, was given market re-approval by the European Commission, to the relief of crop farmers across the EU. The decision not to ban the substance was, however, more the result of a failure by member states to agree a common position, which produced a default to the status quo. The possibility of a future ban remained very much on the agenda.
While many Scottish crop farmers had supported the idea of Brexit as a means of escaping the ever-expanding EU rulebook, NFU Scotland issued a reality check this month, pointing out that there were potentially years between now and the UK's formal departure from the CAP, so it was still well worthwhile campaigning for changes to the way that ScotGov had applied the Brussels-hatched greening regime.
Setting its sights on the United States premium dairy market, Scotland launched two specially branded cheddars, made with 100% Scottish milk, at a New York food trade fair. Organised by Scottish Development International, hopes were high that Connage Dunlop and Orkney Smoked Red would be the vanguard for a whole range of dairy products sold to the septics on the strength of Scotland's brand.
In the wake of the Royal Highland Show, social media briefly lit up with tales, some perhaps truer than others, of wrong-doing by the hired in bar and security staff on the Young Farmers' campsite, provided by Welsh firm Streamline. What was certainly confirmed was that at least one of Streamline's people was found in possession of a mobile phone that had gone missing, and was subsequently fired.
A new agricultural and business training programme, “Cultivating Futures”, was launched by the Scottish Association of Young Farmers’ Clubs. The programme was intended to offer those who did not go to college or university, or achieve all the training they desired through their education, an opportunity to pick up new skills. It was to be funded by a £30,000 grant from ScotGov.
Sheep farmers expressed their dissatisfaction at the wait for payments under the much-vaunted Upland Sheep Support Scheme, which had been bankrolled to the tune of £6million by ScotGov specifically to help out businesses keeping sheep in some of Scotland's remotest areas. It seemed that, with everything else that was going on in the rural payments department, this comparatively small scheme had been pushed to the back of a long queue for computer time.
Recorded instances of sheep worrying were up by a scandalous 55% in Scotland since 2015's lambing season, and the NFUS was convinced that there remained an iceberg of incidents going unreported. However, it welcomed the various new initiatives conducted by both Police Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage to educate the dogwalking public about the realities of livestock farming.
Another Farm Safety Week rolled round, and instead of relying on the impersonal yearly statistics of farm deaths and serious injuries, the campaign took a different tack to catch the eye of farmers who were perhaps too busy and in too much of a rush to follow every rule in the HSE handbook – it found farmers who, too busy and in too much of a rush, had suffered nasty accidents, and got them to tell their own stories in gory, painful detail.
Unrest and anger in the crofting counties continued to simmer, as the initial fallout between the Crofting Commission and the grazings committees of Mangersta and Upper Coll precipitated fallouts between the Scottish Crofting Federation and the Crofting Commission; the crofting commissioners with each other; and NFU Scotland with the SCF. Meanwhile, on a more personal level, The Scottish Farmer's letters page was ablaze with angry letters arguing the various disputed points from many unexpected local angles.
A dark cloud once again hung over the dairy cattle show circuit, as the Great Yorkshire Show Holstein breed champion was stripped of her accolade following an alleged incident of udder tampering. Peak Goldwyn Rhapsody Ex96, from Derbyshire breeder Yasmin Bradbury, had previously been crowned 'supercow' at 2015's AgriScot and overall champion at the UK Dairy Expo in Carlisle.
'Stop eating meat and save the world' was the cry of the Vegan Society this month, as it sought to pin the blame for climate change on the gaseous emissions of the estimated 70 billion animals kept for food around the world. If everyone in the UK dodged meat for a day, it'd save as much greenhouse gas as taking five million cars off the road, they claimed. Nothing was said about the gas produced by the bean-munching vegans themselves. Nothing.
Organic watchdog the Soil Association fell foul of the conventional arable sector by calling on UK breadmakers and supermarkets to avoid using crops that had been treated with glyphosate. With the wheat harvest imminent, the SA pointedly thrust the issue of pesticide residues back into the public spotlight by asking bread companies to end the use of the pre-harvest desiccant in their supply chains.
Following the theft of 12 Suffolk sheep, valued at £11,000, from the Bilbster area of Caithness, a 22-year-old man has been charged by police, and a report sent to the procurator fiscal. The case prompted NFU Scotland to note that livestock thefts were frequently left unreported, not just in the north, but across Scotland.The union and Police Scotland urged farmers and crofters to check to their stock regularly and report any thefts as soon as possible.
Well known sheep breeder James (Jimmy) Douglas, from Fraserburgh, was the 2016 recipient of the Sir William Young Award. Recognised by fellow breeders and stockmen throughout the industry as an outstanding livestock breeder, judge and exhibitor, Mr Douglas' award, from the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, recognises his outstanding contribution to livestock breeding, while commemorating the service to Scottish agriculture by the late Sir William Young, of Skerrington Mains.
Tesco was slammed for using ‘fake’ farm branding on its food products. The English NFU wrote to the National Trading Standards Institute to formally air its concerns that branding featuring farm names and images was persuading shoppers to buy products that had an origin very different from the products that they thought they were buying. Tesco’s introduction of fresh produce lines under brand names such as ‘Woodside Farms’ and ‘Boswell Farms’ – fictional establishments not in the actual supply chain behind the goods – was just the latest and most blatant example of the marketing trick.
Milk producers with Arla were offered hope by the co-op’s new 'Farmers Milk' brand. Created to give shoppers the opportunity to pay a little extra on each bottle, the brand was based on research showing that almost two thirds of consumers – 63% – said that they would pay more for dairy products if they knew the extra money would go back to farmers.
Keen Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom was unveiled as the new Defra secretary of state. Scottish farmers expressed "deep concern" that the job of guiding UK farming out of the Common Agricultural Policy had been given to someone who had made a habit, while on the Tory back benches, of calling for farm subsidies to be scrapped. Hill farmers in particular were alarmed by her quote: “It would make so much more sense if those with the big fields do the sheep, and those with the hill farms do the butterflies."
AUGUST
THERE WERE calls for Crofting Commission convener Colin Kennedy to resign over the debacle surrounding crofters grazings committees. Scottish Crofting Federation chair Fiona Mandeville said: “It is clearly time for Mr Kennedy to go. Documents obtained through freedom of information are unequivocal. The board of the Crofting Commission, headed by Mr Kennedy, chose to ignore policy and legal advice and proceeded to impose, what lawyers are saying are illegal, constables upon grazing shareholders whose committees the commission has removed from office. So much anguish has been caused by this whole debacle and now, as suspected, we can clearly see that Mr Kennedy led the commission down this destructive route."
Kielder Forest, which stretches up through Northumberland to the Scottish Border, was earmarked as the 'preferred site' for a trial reintroduction of Eurasian lynx. Just over a year after the Lynx UK Trust announced its aim to reintroduce the species to the British Isles, suggesting that the species might prove its worth by controlling the "unchecked deer population overgrazing our forests", the Trust identified Kielder as their first choice for the predators release. Cumbrian sheep farmers were, naturally, less than delighted.
Milk giant Müller came under heavy fire for refusing to increase its milk price to reflect the ongoing turnaround in the dairy market. According to NFU Scotland, Müller’s decision to hold its price for September was a "slap in the face" to those of its producers not under shelter of supermarket-aligned contracts. Defending its stance, Müller pointed out that over the last 18 months of market slump, it had cut its price less and later than its competitors.
Bracken, the scourge of many hill and upland farmers, might finally have met its match in the form of the renewable energy sector, which had its beady eye on those vast hill plantations as a feedstock for biofuel production. Given that value, new technologies purpose-built to crop bulky vegetation off the hillside might well become viable – as demonstrated at a series of exceptional machinery demonstration days on Scottish estates, where the cutting edge of hillside harvesters, brought over from Germany, were set loose to the wonderment of all who watched.
New generation farmers whose efforts to break into cattle or sheep production had been frustrated were invited to be the leaders of a Scottish pig sector resurgence. The weak pound, investment from Tulip in new abattoir facilities at Brechin and increasing commitment to domestic pork from retailers had improved the outlook for pig production in Scotland, said Scottish Pig Producers chief executive Andy McGowan: “We are looking for the next generation of pig farmers to drive the industry forward and add dynamism to the sector."
The battle for primacy over crofter representation intensified, when crofters on Skye publicly backed NFU Scotland and criticised the Scottish Crofting Federation for taking ‘pot shots’ at the union. In particular, the Sleat General Grazings committee slammed statements by SCF chief executive, Patrick Krause. Sleat chair Alastair Culbertson said: “Whatever the views of the SCF, crofters and farmers throughout Scotland work together every day to achieve their common goals and the attempt to break that bond does crofting as a whole a great disservice."
Demand for rural land had fallen sharply in the past six months and prices were also expected to fall – and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said that the uncertainty sown by Brexit was to blame. Respondents to its latest rural land market survey said that confusion over the future of CAP payments, and low commodity prices, had dented confidence in the future value of UK farmland.
Amidst the welter of Brexit politics and speculation, one worrying fact stood out to observant Scottish farmers – no-one, neither Westminster nor Holyrood, had committed to fund the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme beyond this year. The was pointedly not covered by Chancellor Philip Hammond's guarantee of CAP continuity up til 2020. But as he could only reasonably be held to account for the 30% of the LFASS budget that had historically come via the EU, the remaining 70% was in the hands of the Scottish Government, which was also dodging the subject.
Angus McCall, Scotland's “tenants champion” became an owner occupier this month, having taken advantage of the decision by Sutherland Estates to sell some of its farms to the sitting tenants as part of a restructuring process. Commenting on the purchase, Mr McCall told The Scottish Farmer: “The chance to buy the farm was totally unexpected and the decision to purchase is the biggest we have had to face as a family, but it is an opportunity not to be missed." Our letters page briefly blazed with correspondence suggesting that Mr McCall had in some way betrayed his principles – despite his long history of campaigning for tenants' right to buy!
Rural economy CabSec Fergus Ewing promised that 100% of Scottish properties would have access to superfast broadband by 2021. Commenting on the publication of Audit Scotland’s 'Superfast Broadband for Scotland' progress report Mr Ewing said: “Broadband and mobile coverage are of vital importance to many aspects of rural life and the rural economy and we are working hard to continue to improve both."
Scotland's four-year Young Farmer Start-up Grant scheme was described as a "victim of its own success" as it emerged that most of its £6million budget had been allocated in the first year. Opposition MSPs attempted to make political mileage out of the fact that, with £5.23million already committed to successful applicants, very little had been left to cover the scheme's three remaining years. But NFU Scotland came to ScotGov's defence, saying it had been right to spend the money on the 90 young farmers who had come forward in year one.
Councillors rejected a planning proposal for the expansion of ANM's Thainstone mart, near Inverurie. The proposed new business park – a £4million expansion of the current site – was turned down after objections were raised, citing concerns over the visual impact on the local landscape and increase in traffic congestion. ANM Group chairman Pat Machray said he was "deeply disappointed" with the outcome: "This is obviously not only a setback for us, but for the whole of Inverurie and the North-east agricultural industry."
If you didn’t think that your lamb curry really had lamb in it, or if your burger tasted a bit horsey, this month offered you a new means to do something about it, with the launch of Scotland’s first-ever food crime hotline, created by Food Standards Scotland in conjunction with Crimestoppers.
Supermarkets across Scotland – with the notable exception of ASDA and Waitrose – were showered with praise from NFU Scotland for filling their shelves with record volumes of Scottish-sourced lamb, revealed by its ongoing 'Shelfwatch' campaign.
Scotland's production of farmed venison was lagging behind UK consumers' growing appetite for year-round supplies of the meat – and unless more farmers got onboard, imports would have to double over the next five years, the Scottish Venison Partnership warned. There was, said the SVP, a very real economic opportunity for conventional livestock producers to make the switch to deer.
SEPTEMBER
NEW EVIDENCE was revealed in support of the Crofting Commission’s unpopular interventions on Lewis. Colin Souter, the constable controversially appointed to replace the grazings committee at Upper Coll, spoke up to itemise examples of that committee’s “arbitrary decision-making” on how shareholders’ money was spent. “It is accepted that honest mistakes will have been made, but specific attention has been focused ... where serious, obvious or repeat patterns of ongoing conduct have been evident,” said Mr Souter, who laid out a litany of spending decisions made by the committee that, in his opinion, went beyond its legal powers.
But, very much in tune with the way that the whole croft grazings row had played out over the course of the year, opposing voices were soon raised to insist that Mr Souter's evidence was "not a gamechanger" at all, and it was his investigation, not the grazings committees, which was stood on shaky legal ground.
A new report on emerging agri-technology suggested that robots had started to “quietly transform” many aspects of agriculture. The IDTechEx report claimed that, worldwide, there was a $3billion global market for agricultural robots and drones in 2016, which was set to grow to $10bn by as early as 2022, driven by robotic milking parlours, autonomously guided tractors and the squadron of miniature aircraft already providing detailed aerial maps of farms worldwide.
A report card on the performance of Scotland’s five million-strong sheep flock would read “could do better”, was the conclusion of the Scottish Sheep Sector Review, published this month by an industry group chaired by former UK sheep farmer of the year John Scott. To put Scotland’s sheep sector back to top of the class, the review recommended a 24-point action plan.
As many as 50% of the workforce in Scotland’s abattoirs and meat processing plants were non-UK citizens – and the industry's big worry was that they would be lost as a result of the UK's exit from the European Union. The Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers and NFU Scotland jointly called on the UK government to provide immediate assurances on the status of these skilled workers, so that the industry could proceed on a stable basis.
The future was looking decidedly brighter for Caledonian Marts, as the company reported bumper figures for its first year since almost closing completely in 2015, before being bought out of administration. Chief executive John Kyle said: “We have had a very successful year! Our figures reflect just how busy we have been, and I am delighted to say that they are a fair bit higher than our predictions."
Scotland's 2016 harvest had not got off to a flying start, but momentum built up through September, and there was a distinctly mixed bag of reports of progress and yield from around the country. While the winter barley harvest was almost complete, those growing oilseed rape had faced the biggest disappointments, with high winds in mid-August shattering seedpods and stripping fields bare just as harvest approached.
Alarm bells rang for the UK sheep sector as sheep meat superpower Australia proposed a post-Brexit free trade deal with the UK. The old colony had emerged as a key target in UK efforts to set up trade agreements to replace those that will be lost when it leaves the European Union – and the National Sheep Association expressed concern that a new overall trade deal might be secured by granting Oz a far bigger share of the UK lamb market.
Demolition of the Royal Highland Showground's MacRobert Pavilion was set to begin, but it emerged that it might be several years before it was replaced with another permanent structure – if at all. Following delays brought on by the discovery of asbestos in the old structure, it looked likely that the 2017 show would see a temporary structure put in place – and an unnamed source close to the show suggested that, provided that temporary replacement was a success with members, there might never be a permanent replacement, saving the society a heap of cash and leaving a large chunk of land in a key area of the showground free for more flexible use.
Broadcaster Melvyn Bragg waded into the row over the National Trust's purchase of a piece of land in the Lake District – and the future of a noted flock of rare breed Herdwick sheep. He accused the Trust of "bullying" after it paid £200,000 above the asking price for the land at Thorneythwaite Farm in Borrowdale, but did not take on the farmhouse, raising concerns about what will now happen to the farm's flock of 413 Herdwicks.
A child died after becoming infected with E.coli 0157 and Food Standards Scotland pointed the finger of blame at the Scottish artisan cheese, Dunsyre Blue. The cheesemaker, no stranger to official scrutiny over its use of unpasteurised milk, strongly denied the claims. But FSS stuck to its guns, and it wasn't long before Dunsyre's produce was being recalled from the shelves, and the whole matter ended up in the courts.
Fergus Ewing announced that the rural economy was to get a £300million 'shot in the arm' in the first half of November, via a ScotGov scheme offering 17,000 farmers and crofters an interest-free loan equivalent to 80% of their Basic Payment. Mr Ewing admitted that, despite "substantial progress", the troubled farm payment IT system was not yet risk free – so to bypass that risk, he had committed that £300million to the loan scheme so farm businesses would get the bulk of their 2016 support allocation earlier in the winter than ever before.
A number of Simmental breeders were banned from United Auction’s Stirling bull sales for making false statements with regard to their herds' health status. The society’s chief executive Neil Shand sent a letter to society members detailing the reasons behind the move. He said: “A very small number of members, less than 1% of the forms checked, gave false information. As far as I am aware, the Simmental society is the only beef breed to carry out 100% health status checks, guaranteeing that the animals credentials are 100% accurate."
Devoting a portion of their milk production to ‘futures’ based contracts could be the salvation of some Scottish dairy farms, said Lancashire-based Yew Tree Dairy, which travelled north on a recruitment mission in Scotland, meeting with interested producers in Ayrshire. The crux of their pitch was to offer farmers the chance to trade a percentage of their milk on the futures market, effectively locking it into a set price for a year or more. Yew Tree’s producer price for October was reported to be 24ppl – a veritable fortune compared to the prices many Scottish producers had been enduring.
Scotland's new Farm Advisory Service was launched, as part of the Scottish Rural Development Programme, funded jointly by the Scottish Government and the EU. The £20m contract to run the service was awarded to SAC consulting and Ricardo Energy and Environment, with plans for it to operate until the end of December 2020.
OCTOBER
DAIRY producers on Bute tendered their resignations to First Milk en masse, in a bid to take advantage of those better prices on offer through southern buyers harnessing the sky-high spot market for milk. Under the FM cancellation terms, departing producers had to serve a year's notice before shifting to a new buyer – but some of the Bute farmers allegedly sought to exploit a loophole which terminated their contract immediately if the business was transferred into another name. FM chairman Clive Sharpe was having none of that, however, and issued a letter closing that loophole.
Perhaps not uncoincidentally, First Milk announced a two pence per litre increase in its October farmgate price for all of its membership pool, its largest monthly increase since 2007, and forecast that its prices would continue to rise in the coming months. Alongside rises from Muller, Arla and all the rest, it was becoming apparent that the worst of the milk slump was over.
Women working in the agricultural industry were encouraged to complete a survey, launched by the Scottish Government and facilitated by the James Hutton Institute, to share views and experiences of their working life.
Regardless of their role in the farm business, the survey offered women of all ages the opportunity to discuss exactly what they do on a day-to-day basis, and how they support the farm or croft with different activities, either paid or unpaid.
Following an abortive meeting of the Crofting Commission board in Brora, Colin Kennedy was asked to resign his post as convenor. Under political pressure, the commission had been expected to issue an apology for its role in the grazings committee row, but Mr Kennedy was not to be party to that, and shortly after the start of the meeting, he had closed proceedings and left. The remaining commissioners opted to hold a special meeting, and a motion was accepted requesting that Mr Kennedy tender his resignation.
Shortly after, Mr Kennedy broke cover and spoke directly to The Scottish Farmer, saying that he was "going nowhere" and would defend his actions to the hilt. There was, he suggested, a concerted official effort underway to sweep years of official mismanagement of the crofting legislation under the carpet.
Rural charity RSABI celebrated following confirmation that its Great Glen Challenge event had raised £50,146, once again exceeding its fundraising target. The popular event pitted teams from rural companies and organisations against each other along a 46km Highlands course, and had raised over £178,000 in total since it was established in 2012.
The opening of the new Quality Pork Ltd abattoir at Brechin saw a surge in confidence in Scotland's pigmeat sector. The QPL site, with state-of-the-art lairage, a gas stunning kill line, a rapid carcase chill system and lorry wash, was the result of a £10million investment from private investors – a close collaboration between Scottish Pig Producers, Scotlean and Tulip Ltd – and a £2.7m Scottish Government Grant, enabling the site to process all Scottish-born pigs.
Fields across the west of Scotland were adorned with decorated bales of hay, straw and silage, as part of a campaign to promote Scotland's young farmers clubs, led by the SAYFC's west area. Entries from 18 clubs across Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Clyde and Central and Dumfries and Galloway were judged in situ, with Crossroads YFC eventually topping the competition with their two huge bale teddy bears.
Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham announced that Scotland's ban on tail docking of dogs was to be changed to permit the shortening of the tails of Spaniel and Hunt Point Retriever puppies where a vet believed they were likely to become working dogs and risk serious tail injury in later life. Scottish Gamekeepers Association chairman Alex Hogg said: “The benefit that this exemption to the law will convey in terms of the welfare of working Spaniels and Hunt Point Retrievers all over Scotland cannot be underestimated.
Berwickshire SNP MP Calum Kerr suggested that mobile phone companies should no longer be given licensed access to urban markets til they had first properly served rural areas. A system of 'out to in' mobile service licensing had already produced good signal coverage throughout the German countryside, said Mr Kerr, and was one of the measures that the UK government could now take up to improve the country's shoddy rural connectivity.
Plans for a joint national dairy show in 2017 fell through, as talks towards a partnership between Holstein UK and the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers dramatically unravelled. The two organisations had been discussing the formation of a joint-venture company to stage a national flagship event, but the idea was spiked by Holstein UK, which cited both RABDF’s approach to negotiations and its financial position as its main reasons for pulling out.
Crops in Scotland were falling victim to illegally released wild pigs, which had been spotted tearing up farm land across the country. Farmers warned the Scottish Government that the number of the animals on the loose would soon become unmanageable. Lengthy delays to an official report, hopefully leading to some sort of action plan, were not helping.
There was an outcry as it emerged that English seed potatoes were once again being planted in Scottish fields, despite the risk of importing disease. Official planting figures showed that 18 ware crops north of the border were planted with imported seed in 2016. Although the practice was not illegal under EU plant health regulations as long as the crops were certified, it nonetheless exposed Scotland's high-health status to exotic bacterial diseases such as brown rot and ring rot.
Farmer John Paterson, a tenant of Glenree farm on the isle of Arran, and his brother Ian, became the latest Scottish farming family facing eviction because of the infamous Salvesen Riddell court ruling. But they made it clear that they would not go without a fight, teaming up with six other Scottish tenant farmers facing the same fate at a hearing in the Court of Session seeking compensation from the government for the historic legislative mistakes that had led them to that point.
NOVEMBER
SUPERMARKET giant Waitrose dealt a blow to GM crops by announcing that its meat and dairy products would henceforth come exclusively from livestock fed only on non-GM materials. While the UK's supermarkets do not sell unlabelled GM produce for human consumption, all of them had continued to sell meat and dairy products from animals fed on imported GM soya and GM maize – which they were not required to label under EU law. Waitrose became the only UK retailer committing to have only non-GM soya in all its suppliers' animal feed – but anti-GM campaigners expected other supermarkets to follow suit.
Police Scotland launched a new campaign to alert dog owners to the devastating effects of livestock worrying. The publicity drive was timed to coincide with sheep being brought down to low lying pasture, which is often more accessible by people and dogs – the reason why November had seen a spike in worrying cases in years gone by.
Stuart Housden announced that he was to step down as director of RSPB Scotland in 2017, after 22 years of leading the biggest wildlife conservation charity in the country. But he would continue working for the RSPB until he retired in October 2017, focussing on the need to maintain the regulatory standards of the European Wildlife Directives after Brexit.
After years of patronage by the serving farm minister of the day, it was suggested that 2016’s AgriScot would have to make do without its traditional turn by a political heavy-hitter, as Rural Economy Cabinet Secretary, Fergus Ewing, had declined his invitation to NFU Scotland’s morning seminar slot. Or perhaps he hadn't, as an alternative interpretation of events then emerged where it was asserted that the union had changed the format to give its own speakers more prominence. The upshot was that Mr Ewing got to attend the event after all, presenting a few prizes and having a wee mingle – but without having to answer any direct questions about the wellbeing of the ScotGov rural payments computer.
All was forgiven – well, mostly – as around £246 million of the ScotGov basic payment loan scheme went out to farmer's bank accounts, temporarily spiking the issue of delayed support payments.
It came as no surprise to TSF readers when BBC 2's 'This Farming Life' series won the factual programme award at Scotland's 2016 BAFTAs. At a glittering event held in Glasgow, programme participants Melissa and Martin Irvine appeared, not in wellies for a change, to accept the award alongside the show's producers.
Food Standards Scotland found itself in full retreat, after its intelligence manager sparked meat industry outrage by suggesting that foreign meat was being brought into Scotland and fraudulently re-labelled as Scotch.
In a recorded interview, FSS intelligence manager Duncan Smith discussed the progress of the food crime hotline launched earlier in the year, and repeatedly stated that it had yielded reports of apparently "bona-fide" Scottish processors taking in meat from England, Ireland and "all over Europe" and selling it on as the higher-value Scotch premium product. Amid howls from the meat industry, FSS director of operations Ian McWatt was soon stating: “FSS can confirm there is no current investigation into the Scottish beef industry and no suggestion of any wrong-doing."
More than 250 ladies involved in the Scottish farming sector gathered at RBS Gogarburn to hear views from a panel of four women. The Women of Agriculture group first came together in April, 2015 as a means to recognise the contribution of women to the agricultural, rural and land-based industries, and support and develop opportunities going forward – and this, its third meeting, was the biggest so far.
Pat Machray announced his decision to step down from his role as chairman of Scotland’s Rural College in October 2017. Describing the value of Mr Machray’s involvement, SRUC principal and chief executive Professor Wayne Powell said: “Pat has helped guide our organisation through a challenging but hugely exciting 10 year period as a key member of both the SRUC and SAC Commercial Boards. His wisdom and guidance has been invaluable in helping to steer the college on a steady path."
Golden eagle numbers were on the up, according to the latest results from a national survey, which suggested that the species now had 508 pairs in Scotland, a rise of 15% since the previous survey in 2003. Now that numbers had surpassed 500 pairs, golden eagles met the criteria for ‘favourable conservation status'. However, it was also likely that Scotland was now home to the entire UK population, following reports that England’s only resident golden eagle has died.
Cheese company Lactalis, which runs the Fresh Milk Company, at Stranraer, came up trumps with a ground-breaking milk price deal to guarantee its producers a minimum price of 27.5p per litre for the whole of next year. Only three weeks previously, the company had faced a mass defection of producers unhappy with the price they were being paid.
Efforts to have dual purpose breeds, such as the Fleckvieh, made eligible for the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme, came to fruition this month. In previous years, some dual-purpose breeds were eligible for payment, but in 2015 the new scheme’s notes omitted them. Following efforts by NFU Scotland, that was reversed, meaning that farmers could now claim on 2016-born dual-purpose bred calves.
In a bid to encourage young families and individuals into the crofting lifestyle a new crofting township – Gillean – was launched by the Clan Donald Lands Trust in Tarskaavaig on Skye. Angus Kelly of Bidwells commented: “It is a very unusual move for an estate to create new crofts, but the trust believes this is a tangible step towards traditional crofting and will help maintain a way of life synonymous with Skye and many other areas of the Highlands and Islands."
DECEMBER
NFU SCOTLAND'S imminent leadership elections began to look really interesting, as both current vice presidents, Rob Livesey from the Borders, and Dumfriesshire farmer Andrew McCornick, confirmed that they would challenge current president Allan Bowie at the union's February AGM.
Moredun scientific director Professor Julie Fitzpatrick was presented with the Royal Smithfield Club's Bi-centenary trophy in recognition of her services to the industry, by no less a personage than Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, during her annual visit to the MRI.
Brexit offered the UK farming industry a “fantastic opportunity” to build a brand new agricultural policy that worked for Britain and improved upon the “hopeless bureaucracy” imposed by the EU, declared Defra farming minister George Eustice at the Northern Farming Conference. Mr Eustice insisted that farming regulations in post-Brexit Britain would be sharper, less bureaucratic and rooted in good ideas and common sense.
To the alarm of many, forms were issued to landowners and managers across Scotland asking for details of their sporting rights, as part of the changes to the rating system brought in by the land reform act. Farmers were advised against ignoring them, because the information gathering exercise was not just aimed at sporting estates – the scrutiny of sporting potential went right down to farms, crofts and smallholdings, and a reply was compulsory.
Beavers living wild in Scotland, both as a result of official trials and illegal releases, were to be allowed to remain and be given protection, it was announced. Farmers and landowners were comforted with the promise of 'pragmatic' rules allowing control of the species where its activities disrupted productive land.
European protection of iconic Scottish food products could continue after Brexit if the UK government agreed to maintain its own recognition of the EU’s ‘geographical indication’ system, said researchers at farming levy-funded quango, AHDB. Westminster’s negotiators were well aware of the ongoing value of Geographic Indicators, which provided both legal protection and a reputational boost for foodstuffs with a traditional place of origin – and alongside internationally-famed products like champagne and parma ham, Scottish products like Scotch Beef, Orkney Scottish Island Cheddar and Stornoway Black Pudding all currently enjoyed this protection from imitations.
It seemed that Fergus Ewing could not do right for doing wrong, as another cock-up by the Scottish Government's agricultural administration came to light – but this time it had given some farmers too much money. Some of those interest-free early loans on farmers' Basic Payments had been miscalculated, and 166 farm businesses had received too much, which ScotGov wanted back.
An avian Influenza Prevention Zone was declared by the Scottish Government, requiring all poultry and captive birds to be kept indoors, in response to reports of a strain of highly pathogenic bird flu H5N8 causing high mortality in wild birds in mainland Europe. The precaution was to prove justified, as an English turkey farm went down with the disease just a week later.
As 2016 drew to a close, it was announced that Jonnie Hall, NFU Scotland's director of policy, had been seconded to the Scottish Government to help it formulate "the best deal possible" for Scottish food and farming from the imminent Brexit negotiations. Mr Hall said he hoped to ensure that there was a "sense of realism in the room" as ScotGov defines the policies that will guide Scottish farming's progress out of the EU...
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