This week the inspiring story from Glenrath Farms shows what can be achieved in Scotland’s hills and uplands.

There is huge potential to breath new life into such rural areas and prevent the march of trees from accelerating the demise of communities. Sheep farming is ideally suited to reinvigorating existing family farms or bringing new blood into the glens. For a start, capital requirements to set up a flock of breeding ewes are far more manageable than trying to enter the arable or dairy sectors.

A proportion of ground dedicated to tree planting or biodiversity should be offered as rental opportunities to new and growing business, to maintain the vibrancy in these areas. The Campbells at Glenrath, as with many of our sheep farmers, have shown what can be done when attention to detail and a drive for efficiency is central to the business plan which also reduces carbon emissions. So many more could replicate this success if there were increased opportunities out there for young people.

READ MORE: Campbells of Glenrath gear up for a busy sales season

That is, if farmers are not drowned by the dozen government reports thrown out from the Scottish Government this week. Like buses, you wait and wait, then 12 come along at once, only it still isn’t clear what directions the buses are heading.

Within these reports there will be the plan for Scottish Agriculture, but we need someone to pull it together and explain where the industry is headed and how this will affect the nation’s much sought after home-produced food. It is like leaving a maths test by showing you’re working without writing the answer. Dumping all the reports without a narrative to explain the vision leaves busy farmers with little clarity or direction.

One group who were clearly not good with directions this week were the 1000 motorists who felt it acceptable to park their cars in a new sown field of oilseed rape. It is tragic enough when ignorant dog walkers allow devastating sheep attacks in our fields, but now even arable farmers are not safe from the clueless public.

Public service infrastructure failures have cost one Lothian farmer thousands of pounds, as he has had to resow a field twice. If more parking is needed for the trams, then arrangements need to be made, ditching your car in the nearest field is not on.

Such selfish actions stretches the already under pressure emergency services, when Police Scotland attended the field they had already logged 6000 incidents that day alone. Surely officials should have paused for thought before awarding permission to host a rugby match with 54,212 people in the middle of at the world’s largest arts festival and next to a pop concert at Ingliston.