The government has today announced £22million in farm technology funding to support farmers in reducing waste and boosting crops in an ecological way, leading to calls from industry experts for more training on how to achieve such goals.

Science Minister Chris Skidmore said in a statement today that the new technologies adopted will help UK farmers cut down on pollution, minimise waste and produce more food.

The Farm Consultancy Group were delighted to co-host a fantastic day of country pursuits which showcased the generosity of the rural community, raising £4,500 in aid of Wiltshire MIND and The UK Sepsis Trust.

RSABI Great Glen Challenge 2019 has raised an amazing £50,710 to support people in Scottish agriculture

RSABI is celebrating following confirmation that its annual Great Glen Challenge event, held at the end of August, has raised £50,710 surpassing our target for yet another year. The popular event has raised over £350,000 in recent years with support from over 500 rural competitors, representing over 130 company teams since being established in 2012.

This year’s Great Glen Challenge event, sponsored once again by full-service Scottish law firm Ledingham Chalmers, solicitors and supported by Bank of Scotland, Rettie & Co, The Scottish Farmer and Royal Bank of Scotland, saw 104 competitors complete the multi-sport 46 km course from Fort Augustus to Benavie, by Fort William. In teams of four plus a support driver they mountain biked, kayaked, walked and ran their way down the Great Glen against the clock and in the wettest conditions we have ever faced.

The team from AHDB Scotland were crowned winners, with teams from Landmark Systems Ltd taking a very close second and last year’s winners Begbies Traynor coming in third.

The proceeds of two books, packed with farming stories, have collectively raised over £72,000 for RSABI, the charity which supports people working in Scottish agriculture.

The books – “Farming is a Funny Business” and “Farming Facts and Fake News” – were compiled by brothers Andrew and John Arbuckle who farmed near Newburgh in Fife.

The Arbuckle brothers are delighted with the phenomenal success of the books which they hope have raised many a smile in the farming community, as well as valuable funds for a leading Scottish agricultural charity.

RSABI has a team of dedicated staff who provide vital financial, practical and emotional support to individuals and families with links to Scottish agriculture. The charity also offers support through a helpline, 0300 1114166.

The Chief Veterinary Officers across the UK are encouraging all poultry keepers to take action now to reduce the risk of disease in their birds over the winter.
 
There are some simple measures that all poultry keepers, whether they are running a large commercial farm, keeping a few hens in their back garden, or rearing game birds, should take to protect their birds against the threat of avian influenza (bird flu) in the coming winter months. These include:

A group of 29 Kintyre dairy farmers have today launched a bid, and associated crowd-funding campaign, to save Campbeltown Creamery, producers of the world-famous Mull of Kintyre cheddar.

Nestled on the southern tip of the Kintyre peninsula within a climate that ensures all year grass growth for the dairy herds which graze there, Campbeltown Creamery has been producing cheese, using the finest milk from the 29 farms in the area, since 1923 and making Mull of Kintyre cheddar since the 1970s.

This week, those 29 farms, all modern, committed and family-owned, have launched their campaign to purchase the creamery, and the Mull of Kintyre cheddar brand, from current owners First Milk.

Could Farm Business Incubators provide a route into the industry for new entrants in Scotland?

This question is set to be the focus of a special NEWBIE business seminar at AgriScot on 20^th November.

The NEWBIE project is a pan European initiative which is partnered and promoted in the UK by Scotland’s very own James Hutton Institute. The goal of the NEWBIE network is to increase innovation, entrepreneurship, and resilience in the European farming sector by enabling new entrants to successfully establish sustainable farm businesses.

Scottish Forestry, one of two new agencies created in April 2019 to replace the Forestry Commission in Scotland, is taking a new approach to promoting the diversification of farming businesses’ north of the border by highlighting the opportunities for landowners to maximise their business productivity, improve sustainability and add value by planting trees on underproductive/marginal land.

New woodlands have the potential to create an additional long-term income stream for farming businesses’ through attractive grant funding, while also delivering an important source of low carbon, low cost wood fuel, while at the same time as offering tax incentives, livestock, crop productivity and environmental benefits.