Something isn’t adding up. There are nearly 13,000 cattle herds in Scotland registered for bovine TB monitoring. However, only 449 farmers have taken up government cash to help with liver fluke, 379 for bull fertility testing, and 311 for support on roundworms.

Granted, the Preparing for Sustainable Farming scheme is relatively new, but something appears to be disconnecting with cattle farmers if uptake is so low. Notwithstanding the scheme’s ironic title, as many multigenerational farms, after over 100 years in business, might feel they’ve earned the right to call themselves sustainable.

Those who have experienced the scheme have found the money helpful. However, perhaps farmers are so jaded by form-filling that they can’t face another scheme. The well-meaning scheme has dished out £1,097,500 to date, but clearly, the majority of cattle keepers are not engaging.

Whether it’s due to poor communication from the government, excessive paperwork, or the reward for participation not justifying the effort or cost, an investigation is needed. Paperwork is a hot topic, as many fear reams of rules under future farm support.

Alternatively, it could become an agent’s charter, where thousands of pounds might be spent on supporting form-filling to obtain just hundreds of pounds in the bank. One group particularly frustrated is small farmers and crofters, who face a disproportionately high level of paperwork.

Many are telling The Scottish Farmer, as we attend shows around the country, that they might simply walk away unless the burden is eased. We must also spare a thought for the farmers and crofters living near rivers filled with destructive beavers.

While much of urban Scotland welcomed the new kits announced in the Cairngorms this week with cute ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’, they won’t be the ones picking up the bills from ruined crops and flooded grass fields. This small country of ours needs much more careful planning if we are to reintroduce species after hundreds of years.

The suck-it-and-see attitude from officials has been ill-prepared to handle long-term management and compensate food producers, who typically lose out. But we have every faith in the Crofters and Farmers Community group in the Cairngorms, born from locals demonstrating the power of peaceful protest. It’s just disappointing that they had to take direct action before being given a proper seat at the table and being listened to by officials.

Listening is a real skill, as we are born with two ears and one mouth, so should listen twice as much as we speak. Something we hope to practice here at The Scottish Farmer. From getting marriage advice from the Young Farmers in Orkney (see page 12) right up to hearing from our oldest reader at 101 (see page 58), the industry is not short of people worth listening to.