Argyll & the Islands

As Regional Manager for Argyll and the Islands I am pleased to support members in the region. My previous role was as Farm Conservation Adviser with the Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) covering the Argyll & Bute area.

Although not coming from a farming family I have always enjoyed and appreciated living and working in the countryside.  I have lived in the village of Cairndow, at the head of Loch Fyne for the last 31 years.  Here I started off my farming career with Alistair MacCallum on the farm at Ardkinglas.  Working with Alistair I learnt much about the challenges of making a hill sheep farm pay and the trials of gathering on the high hills of Glen Fyne. Following this I worked as a self-employed shepherdess for about four years.

During the 1990s I took a slight career change and for the next ten years I helped start up and manage the Tree Shop, a specialist plant centre and gift shop next to the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar.  In 1996 I decided to return to full-time study and went to Stirling University to study Conservation Management.

In 2002 I was successful in becoming the Farm Conservation Adviser with FWAG. During my time with FWAG I worked on a number of projects, all with direct links to the agricultural community across Argyll and the Islands.

I believe that I have a wide knowledge and understanding of the issues facing farmers in Argyll and the Islands, but I also know that you the members are the ones who really know what it is like to farm in the current climate.   I am very aware that the future for farming in Argyll and the Islands is going to be extremely challenging, with issues such LFASS and EID being top of the list.  We also need to ensure that delivery of the SRDP can work in our area.   I look forward to meeting as many members as possible, helping all of you to continue to farm both profitably and sustainably and that we can all work together towards this aim

Lucy Sumsion