The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on its upcoming Agricultural Bill as it strives to make the country ‘a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture’.

The survey has received a mixed response from stakeholders, with many welcoming the opportunity to feed in their thoughts on the broad direction of future rural schemes – and others criticising the government for failing to provide significant detail on how the future support systems will work.

Alongside future environment and farm support, the survey is also consulting on animal welfare, the living wage, farm advisory and tenancy legislation, within s single 57-page document. Responses need to be back by November 21, with the results to be considered as the Scottish Government brings forward its new Agricultural Bill expected in 2023.

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “We are supporting our farmers, crofters and land managers to produce more high quality and sustainable food, as well as ensuring our food system is more resilient. The fact is that high quality food production is very much a part of meeting our net zero targets and dealing with the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. We have ambitious targets and right across the agriculture sector we have the talent and skills to meet our aims. I would urge people from all walks of life to get involved and make their views known – these issues affect us all.”

NFU Scotland stated that it views the consultation on the Bill as a necessary step towards a legislative, policy and support framework – but called for ‘far greater detail' on the measures and support that will help farmers deliver on food, climate change and nature in the future.

NFUS president Martin Kennedy, who this week came under personal attack for his participation in ScotGov's Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board, said: “Instead of more plans and declarations, we need a policy that supports farm output, supports the measures that will help us cut our carbon footprint and supports the measures that will enhance biodiversity

“Production is falling and we need the Scottish Government to say how it is going to halt this decline and give farmers the confidence to keep going for the future," said Mr Kennedy.

“We know the direction we need to go in and we know the measures that can help transform individual farming and crofting businesses.”

The chair of the Scottish Beef Association, Paul Ross, said: “There are some positive messages in the consultation. These include the necessity of producing quality food and the fact there is reference to coupled payments and area based support which should give beef farmers some confidence at this time of uncertainty.

“However there is little detail and it is worrying to still be at this stage considering all the effort that has gone in. There is a lot of mention of transitioning to regenerative and sustainable agriculture which can mean totally different things to different people. The phrases keep appearing through the consultation without an explanation about what exactly it means from the government perspective.”

The NSA Scotland Chair, Jen Craig, welcomed the announcement saying: “This is one of the most important consultations that we will ever have to respond to. I would urge everyone to not only feed their views into organisations to aid them to shape their responses but also submit their own individual response. It is vital that true farming voices are heard and we all have to make the most of this opportunity whilst it is available to ensure future policy addresses the challenges we face on a daily basis.”

This was echoed by policy adviser at Scottish Land & Estates, Paul Richardson, who said: “Progress on agriculture and post-CAP public support for land management in Scotland has been long awaited and we are pleased that this consultation has finally been launched.

"Our organisation had said previously that 50% of payments should be made to support active farming businesses, with the additional support available for measures to improve biodiversity, carbon sequestration and wider natural capital. SLE’s Route2050 policy paper details why we needed to take an integrated approach to land use to simultaneously achieve these three key demands.”

Meanwhile Scottish Tenant Farmers Association managing director, Doug Bell, said: “In relation to the other 50 pages of the document, we are disappointed that the consultation goes little further than outlining the enabling powers the Government envisages as necessary. Our expectation was that there would be much more ‘meat on the bones’ to give our members some long-awaited clarity on the shape of future policy, particularly against the current volatile economic backdrop.

"STFA is committed to ensuring new policy and support measures are appropriate for the tenanted sector, but this document gives us little to go on. We therefore look forward to continuing engagement as detailed proposals start to emerge.”

However STFA did specifically welcome the sections within the consultation on updating the rules on tenancies. Mr Bell said: “STFA has been working behind the scenes with other stakeholder organisations to ensure that new measures are introduced to ensure farm tenancies are ‘fit for purpose’ in relation to the changing shape of agriculture in Scotland.

"To that end we welcome the inclusion of questions around enabling powers on diversification, the rules of good husbandry and estate management, and inclusion of a wider range of activities on Schedule 5, to be taken into consideration at waygo. We are also keen to see a significant revamp of the rent review process, enhanced compensation for tenants on resumption of land and long overdue improvements to the waygo process, all of which are covered by the consultation.”

Responding to the consultation launch, agriculture and land use policy manager at WWF Scotland, Ruth Taylor, used the opportunity to call for more nature-friendly farming: “We can’t talk about Scotland’s future, without speaking about agriculture and how it’s funded. Farmers and crofters are at the frontline of climate change, and they also hold the solution as managers of the land.

"Currently over half a billion pounds of public money is spent on farming payments, but only a small pot of that funding is given to help restore and protect nature, and to reduce climate emissions. That’s why we believe changing how the Scottish Government pays farmers is essential if we’re to meet our climate targets."