There is reason to be hopeful that the next 10 years will be a decade of youth rejuvenation in Scottish farming. While figures from the Scottish Government (page 3) show that we seem to be going backwards, all is not lost.

There are younger people in the industry, even though they don’t have their name on the IACS form. Just because a farm is headed up by someone in their 60s does not mean that youth is not present. Farmers don’t squirrel away their money but spend it on growing their business and employing others. Most will have at least one farm adviser to help with paperwork and technical support. If a contractor is used on farm, they employ a lot of staff, often younger than the farmer. Furthermore, lots of our marts have strong trainee programmes which are developing top talent for tomorrow.

However, the figures do highlight a worrying trend that is not in the interests of Scottish farming. A balance is to be had between youth and experience to build a vibrant sector. There are plenty of reasons to be negative about the chances for new people to get into farming – land shortage, biased support system and capital requirements – but youth has some fantastic assets, which will see it grow over the next 10 years.

Once we leave the EU, producing food will become more important as the Government will want to retain a level of food security. It will also need farmers to play their part in the balance of trade. Domestic production can either prevent us from having to buy foreign imports or be exported to get cash into our economy, which will be increasingly important once the UK is on its own.

Young people are brilliantly placed to take advantage of this opportunity. Those who have been farming without subsides are some of the most technically gifted farmers in Scotland. Their margins are very thin, so everything needs to be questioned to strip back costs and maximise output.

Never before has so much advice been at farmers’ fingertips – the talent is being able to digest, select and implement it. New and young businesses can edge ahead of the competition by scouring the world for information on cattle handling, drainage and sheep dosing at the touch of a button.

Calving cows and lambing ewes is hard work. There is no getting away from it. While there are many successful farmers in their 60s who make a brilliant job on livestock farms, they won’t go on for ever. There might be some scaling up in operations in the coming years, but the intensity of labour required means that the next generation are needed in the livestock sector.

Market orientated food production is going to be increasingly important. To secure a premium for produce, a far closer relationship with the consumer is necessary. This is another strength of the next generation; through utilisation of social media and branding, farmers can reach out to consumers.

The most striking feature of successful new entrants is their positive attitude and a willingness to listen. Land availability might be tight but your chances of getting ground improve tenfold with positivity and good people skills. I know of countless examples of startup farmers getting a lend of equipment from neighbours that can make or break a businesses in the early years.

But the main reason the next generation is going to succeed is the support from the industry. The vast majority want to see new folk coming on and making a good job of things. Everyone wants to see the land farmed and farmed well.

Young people in the industry is like immigration – you want a steady trickle of new folk: not too much to destabilise the sector and not so little that it stores up issues further down the line.

Over the next 10 years, we should hopefully see a rebalancing of the industry between old and young to everyone’s betterment.