Blog Following a summer that was punctuated with the seismic EU referendum result, the quieter start to the autumn was welcome, with the ‘ground-shifting’ stuff being left to farmers and growers who have now finished off a successful harvest for another year. This period of ‘business as usual’ has been short-lived, as we look ahead to the start of the UK’s exit from the European Union from April 2017 onwards.
03/11/2016
Blog Unilever and Tesco have been embroiled in a very public dispute over the prices of some well-known household brands.
While for most people this appears to be a negotiation between two massive, faceless, corporate giants, to us farmers there is another dimension – the impact of supermarket food deflation.
Unilever appear to be taking the stance, from an outsider’s perspective, that in a volatile global market, compounded by the currency impact of ‘Brexit’, price cannot constantly go one way – down.
14/10/2016
Blog The start of October sees farmers in East Lothian frantically trying to get all the autumn sowing completed, tatties being lifted and the very last of harvest 2106 being gathered in, with beans being the only crop still standing awaiting the combine knife.With this being an Olympic year, this year’s harvest would get a bronze medal on the podium compared to the previous two years.And the first harvest estimates from across the whole of Scotland back that up.
11/10/2016
Blog Scottish Government’s decision to no longer allow Scottish farmers and crofters to link the holdings on which they will keep cattle, for the purposes of recording movements, is a cause for concern that could lead to problems for many cattle keepers.Indeed, in the North East, producers have already taken their worries about the changes direct to their MSP.
29/09/2016
Blog As thinking on the future design of agricultural policy in the UK and Scotland begins to emerge, a fundamental policy choice has resurfaced in the wake of the EU referendum.Should we go back to the future – decoupled or coupled support?First and foremost, the UK will REMAIN a Member State of the European Union until it is not! Until such times as Brexit is complete, farm support will still be governed by the current Common Agricultural Policy, and all that goes with it by way of budgets, compliance, inspections and all.
19/09/2016
Blog Summer recess for Scottish Parliament is well and truly over with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon mapping out a legislative programme that has much for rural Scotland and our agricultural and food sectors to get their teeth into.For the wider rural community, the First Minister prioritised digital connectivity and we await further detail on the delivery plan. Our members around the country are all too aware that rural Scotland has been left woefully behind the central belt when it comes to digital delivery.
07/09/2016
Blog There has to be new thinking on the way ahead in renewables sector.With the reducing value of Feed In Tariffs (FITs), the Westminster Government has given a clear steer that it no longer intends to support this industry to the same extent.In addition to this, pre-accreditation to protect the longer application process projects is no longer available. This challenges potential developments where there needs to be a larger amount of outlay with no protection on the possible return.
29/08/2016
Blog Not for the first time, I look across at France and wish our Governments would undertake some of the actions that the French are prepared to do to back their farmers and their food industry. The French Government has shown some mettle and are going to force companies to introduce mandatory country of origin labelling for milk and meat in processed foods.
09/08/2016
Blog Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's first minister in a speech on Monday 25 July outlined the key interests she believes must be protected in attempting to secure Scotland's position in Europe. Amongst the points she said was that "safeguarding free movement of labour, access to a single market of 500 million people and the funding that our farmers depend on" are key issues that need to be protected in attempting to secure Scotland’s position in Europe. These points align nicely with the commitments we set out for government to take forward as a result of the Bre
26/07/2016
Blog They say a week is a long time in politics. At present, the political picture seems to be shifting by the hour.
12/07/2016