It makes worrying reading that a number of the country’s largest dairy herds are likely to go bust over the coming years after calls have been rejected to add dairy workers to the Shortage Occupation List.

The SOL lists occupations where employers face a shortage of suitable labour and where it is sensible to fill those shortages with migrant workers, however the Migration Advisory Committee refuses to acknowledge dairy workers in this.

The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers has warned there are real concerns that post 2021 some of our largest, most technically advanced dairy farms could be lost due to their reliance on foreign labour.

Their survey found that more than half of respondents had employed staff from outside the UK in the previous five years, or almost a 25% more than they did in 2014. That same survey found more than 50% of migrant workers on dairy farms were classed as 'highly skilled' or 'mainly highly skilled.

The bottom line is there is insufficient UK staff available. The immigration system is points-based and should give priority to the highest skilled and greatest talented workers. Unfortunately, dairy workers have not been deemed to fall into these categories.

I, for one, don’t agree with this. Admittedly some of the tasks they do aren’t rocket science, however for some other parts of the job, you do need someone with some nous. For instance, all modern dairy systems are computerised and not everyone is au fait with how that works – many dairy workers are, or have had to be.

It wouldn’t just be us who have repercussions. It would be felt right across the industry, with associated businesses such as feed companies and vet practices also affected, let alone the impact on milk supply.

Other organisations have recommended that the likes of butchers, butcher’s assistants, butchery managers, meat cutters and slaughtermen be added to the SOL. As global markets open up to British meat with its high welfare standards and clear provenance, the demand for more skilled staff will increase

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought dairy farmers produced food too!

Apologies if you’re bored hearing about Brexit, but I just have to jump on the bandwagon and support the campaign to save our food standards and encourage us to go all out to prevent second-rate imports. While most of us have finished our silage and harvest, and tattie farmers are busy lifting spuds, MPs will get their final say on the Agriculture Bill this week.

If our Parliamentarians fail to adopt vital amendments, then they could undermine every guarantee we have come to take for granted – and, indeed, have worked hard to deliver.

We are proud and so we should be that we produce food to some of the highest standards in the world, so why should that be allowed to lose that status at the drop of a hat. The conditions we must meet are onerous and expensive, so surely it goes without saying that British farmers are well placed to export premium produce in future trade deals.

If our government friends won’t listen to us then maybe they will take heed of celebrities, such as the renowned chef Jamie Oliver and others, who are trying to persuade MPs to back the amendments. Mr Oliver is one of more than 1m consumers who have signed a petition emphasising the need to protect the UK Food and farming industry from sub-standard imports.

NFU Scotland's president, Andrew McCornick, is urging members to write to their MPs, lobbying them to vote through these amendments, but time has almost run out. I just cannot understand how anyone could, or for that matter would, want to vote against upholding food standards.

Dear Boris, I don’t need to tell you that good food is the backbone of good health. But if any good has come out of this pandemic it’s raised the stakes, that now, more than ever, there is a need for good quality and affordable food.

Trade deals currently being negotiated will determine what we see on supermarket shelves for years to come. Yes, we want and need trade but not at the expense of what ends up on our plate.

Bad deals will also have a worrying impact on things all of us care deeply about, to name but two, the environment and animal welfare. Chlorinated chicken – Mr Johnston – will only be the tip of the iceberg.

Please do not trade away ours and our children’s futures. Respect the integrity and work of you farming constituents.

Staying with the thorny issue of Brexit, the NFU has launched a dedicated webpage to help prepare its members for the changes their businesses could face once we divorce. We effectively left the European Union on January 31 and are in a period of transition to a new trade and relationship partnership with the EU.

That future relationship will be (should be?) in place by January 1, 2021, so we officially depart the EU on Hogmanay. That sounds a fair bit off, but it’s not. We’re already through the first week of October and as the saying goes the nights are fair drawing in!

I hate to say it, but it’ll be Christmas before we know it. Maybe Santa will be working from home or, even better, furloughed.

Joking apart, as we reach the end of the year, the terms of future trade with EU and non-EU countries is unknown, which is why NFU Scotland is striving to prepare its members for any eventuality. But this affects all of us, not just members of the NFUS.

It’s vital that the outcome of the negotiations give Scottish farmers, crofters and growers opportunities to profitably and sustainably grow their businesses so they can continue to underpin the rural economy, local communities and environment.

The 'Brexit Preparedness' pages provide step-by-step signposting for members to consider, starting with key questions to ask yourself; for instance, do you currently receive support through the Common Agricultural Policy?

As we know, CAP will cease to apply, however the existing architecture and rules have been transferred into domestic law, meaning support will continue beyond the end of the transition period.

My understanding is that the Scottish Government will continue to operate CAP schemes from 2021 with work underway to streamline, simplify and free up resources to pilot and test activities likely to feature in a future farming and rural support policy beyond 2024.

The Scottish Government has set out this approach to provide farmers, crofters, foresters, rural businesses and rural communities a period to adapt – from 2021 to 2024 to provide as much stability and security as possible, with the majority of schemes continuing but subject to simplification and improvements.

What the Bill doesn’t do is set out the future direction of Scottish rural support policy post 2024. This work is being undertaken by the Farming and Food Production Future Policy Group. You can find out more at www.ruralpayments.org/topics/all-schemes/farming-and-food-production-group/

Change is coming whether we like it or not and we need the right tools to prepare for that change.