THE old argument of trees versus farming has sparked a major row on a Highland estate, where a planting proposal has been described as "an act of vandalism".

The issue has prompted the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association to call for a comprehensive assessment on the impact on local agriculture of proposals to plant trees on a stretch of arable land at Pityoulish beside the River Spey near Aviemore.

STFA has learnt that the Forestry Commission has received planning applications for planting proposals at the site, said to be owned by Hector Munro, of Fowlis Castle, Evanton. The proposal is to plant 85ha out of a total of 173ha of low ground arable with a mixture of broadleaves and productive conifers. There are also plans to plant a further 65ha of hill land and to encourage natural regeneration of woodlands on a further 102ha.

Although the low ground is classified as land capability class 4.1, local farmers insist that it is productive land capable of sustaining cereal crops, roots and forage for winter feed as well as being good grazing, and is therefore a valuable asset for agriculture in the Spey valley.

STFA director Angus McCall said: “STFA is not against tree planting per se, and welcomes integrated land use involving forestry and farming, but we are opposed to large scale planting taking place on productive arable land, especially in an area where such land is at a premium.

“FCS’s woodlands expansion advisory group guidelines set out clear instructions which require forestry conservancy officials to take account of the local agricultural context when assessing large planting proposals which are ‘potentially sensitive on land with relatively high agricultural value compared with other land in the area, such as in-bye land where most other land in the area is rough grazing, or arable land in severely disadvantage less favoured areas’.

“On improved grassland, a proposal to plant more that 50ha is considered to be large or more sensitive. The proposal to plant 85ha of arable land at Pityoulish fits into this category given its extent and the blanket nature of the planting plan," he said.

STFA would, he said, be contacting the owners of the land to explore whether their planting ambitions could be satisfied whilst also preserving the bulk of the arable land for future generations of farmers.

STFA’s environmental spokesman, Alastair Nairn, who farms Clashmore, Glenlivet, said: “It must be a privilege to own such a desirable farming unit as Pityoulish, but with that privilege must come responsibility as to how the land is managed, both now and in the future.

“It may well be 4.1 land but that is seen as prime arable land in the Aviemore area where it is capable of growing crops to maintain livestock through the winter period. To plant 50% of the low ground and render the unit unviable and uneconomic as an agricultural unit will be seen as an act of vandalism by many people," he said.

“If the land owners are unable to farm the land themselves I would ask them to reconsider the way forward. There are many farmers out there who are farming a lot worse land and managing to make a living. They would give their eye teeth to get a tenancy on a farm like Pityoulish."

A Forestry Commission Scotland told The Scottish Farmer: "We have received two applications from the owners of Pityoulish farm who wish to plant 150ha of new woodland on their farm, with a further 102ha of national regeneration anticipated.

“The application has only recently been submitted and therefore no decisions have been taken on the proposal. We will be following relevant guidelines for planting proposals on agricultural land and will seek advice from the government’s rural payments inspection division before taking any decisions.”