The future of hill farming was the top concern amongst those who attended the NFUS regional Argyll and Islands AGM in Tarbert last week. Over 50 people filled the bowling club as members quizzed a panel made of Alison Milne, co-chair of the National Council of Rural Advisors, Marion McCormick, former buyer for Aldi and Scottish Agricultural Champions, Andrew McCornick NFU Scotland President and John Sleigh, Farmers Journal Scotland editor.

Blackface lamb

The common theme of the day was building a sustainable future for local farmers and crofters. Central to hill farmers was the future of hill Blackface lambs. This summer farmers have been receiving an average of between £40-£50/head, however, this masks some desperately low prices for bottom draw lambs. Farmers mentioned that at some sales they could hardly give lambs away.

John McNaughton, a hill farmer from Colintraive, was clear that the future of hill farmers was in jeopardy and was sad to see so many other ‘mountain men’ moving to other farms or giving up in his area. Much was made of the importance of utilising green credentials and provenance of lamb produced in the area; however local farmers know how hard it is to sell a brand.

The forward-thinking Argyll hill lamb group is designed to provide farmers with a premium for their locally grown Blackface lamb and the co-operative fights hard to get farmers a fair price. Agriculture Champion Marion McCormick believed more could be done stating that, “Argyll has a fantastic story to tell. It has some great produce.”

Local abattoirs

Direct sales to the public was discussed as one way to increase farmer income in the region, however, other than the abattoir on Mull, the ability to provide a contract kill facility for locals was a challenge. Farmers and crofters on the mainland often send animals to the central belt for slaughter before being butchered near Glasgow, then returned for sale to tourists and locals. Whilst there was clearly an appetite for farmers to be able to sell directly to consumers there was concern about having the critical mass to keep facilities open. Further there would need to be a long-term commitment from farmers who are suffering from thin margins and need to maximise sales. There was a dispute between members about the reality of more relaxed rules on the continent allowing home kills and smaller abattoirs. The meeting suggested looking at mobile slaughterhouses or licensed slaughtermen killing on farm, however regulation and scale appears to thwart the long term viability of these options.

Brexit

No meeting of farmers and crofters would be complete without discussion on Brexit. There was serious debate about whether Brexit would actually happen. But most were in agreement that it’s best to be prepared regardless. Alison Milne stated: “Brexit is a massive challenge but also an opportunity.”

Future support payments

Farmers and crofters were anxious to know what the future held in terms of government support. The realisation that market returns are too small to keep businesses viable ensured that many in the room felt exposed to any reduction in support payments. Red tape was seen as a challenge for all farmers. Kintyre dairy farmer John Smith suggested that future support payments be used to strip out costs in the supply chain. He suggested support payment for meat inspections and improved funding for levy bodies.

Andrew McCornick explained the efforts the Union were going to with their Change document which explains the direction in which support may go. McCornick pressed the point that payments were likely to be much more closely linked to environmental benefits. “Public funds for public goods”, was how he explained the direction of travel. The audience understood that this was how future support may look but were keen for their current integral part in environmental care to be recognised.

New entrants

With hill farms being abandoned and the average age of farmers rising the issue of new and younger people farming and crofting was a hot topic. Some in the room were keen to push the idea of share farming as a route into the sector. The cost of buying out hefted flocks was raised with a mixed response. Some farmers felt they needed their hefted flock fee whilst others understood this could be a barrier for incoming tenants or buying land.

Women in farming

A question emailed into the panel asked their views on women in agriculture. With the creation of the Scottish Government’s Women in Agriculture task force, along with NFU Scotland’s work in the area, locals were keen to know what was next for the movement. There was a strong attendance of women at the meeting with many agreeing that usual farming meetings in the region did not fully reflect the number of women working on farms and crofts in Argyll.

There were comments from the floor which commended women onto boards as they would offer a new dynamic to the meetings. However there was a general feeling that positive discrimination to stimulate faster change was the wrong way to go.

Sybil MacPherson, former National Sheep Association chair and local farmer was very keen to stress that positive discrimination was a bad thing saying: “I don’t want the first female president of NFUS to be asking themselves if they only got it because they were a woman.”

Forestry

Planting of valleys and glens with trees was seen as strangling farming in some areas. Entire communities were described as ruined due to land being used for trees.

This was an emotive and challenging topic for the discussion. Farmers recognised that the Government showed little sign of let up in planting targets however, what was key was where they were planted.

Alison Milne was keen to stress the importance of integrated planting to ensure that tree planting was not taken in isolation but part of a joined-up plan.

Farmers in Argyll and the Islands rightly have a great story of their provenance and environmentally friendly production. However more needs to be done to unlock greater returns from the market. This is easy to say but hard to do. There needs to be a method for farmers to sell their story to the consumer, particularly on the environmental benefits of this farming.

The increased freedom for the support rules should help target rewards better to those who need it. Too often inactive farmers were over compensated whilst grafting neighbours fell short. The new rules should also do away with the nonsense that if you bought a few sheep at 18 you are disqualified for a serious grant in your mid-twenties because you are no longer a new entrant.

Interestingly the dairy concern wasn’t given a full airing at the meeting, perhaps due to time and the makeup of the panel. But the challenges of producing milk in the area are not to be underestimated. The figures for grass growth in the area are excellent but there also needs to be investment into facilities and the supply chain. Dairy farms plough a large amount of money into local economies and need to be treated with care.

We can’t forget these are businesses which are producing a significant output. Argyll is vulnerable if we continue to centralise our milk production which would be to the detriment of everyone in Scottish agriculture.

Across the region, like much of the country, there was a mix of hope and anxiety about the future for farming and crofting.