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President's Blog - 17 June 2020

It’s June and there’s no Highland Show but we can still use the time to engage, plan and relax says NFU Scotland President Andrew McCornick who writes:

“My psychological time clock has this as a key date in the year, like Christmas, the start of lambing and calf sales.

“Due to Covid-19, RHASS had no option but to cancel what is, as for all shows, a meeting place, an annual reunion and a shop window for the industry.



“For NFUS, we will be missing the informal chat with our members from the length and breadth of the country, usually over a cup of tea and a strawberry tart.

“The stakeholder and retailer meetings, discussions with politicians, media briefings that usually take up most of the Thursday and Friday will not be lost and are happening through video conferences during lockdown.

“It’s not the same.  Videoconferencing is good for doing business, but I would suggest where it fails is on networking and interpersonal relationship building, both of which are very important.  

“The national and local social engagement for everyone and the escape from the day to day business, routine and stress of crofting and farming has been stolen from us by this virus, but agriculture still goes on.

“We must use some of our non-show time to speak to friends and neighbours.  Without doubt, “the Highland” and all other shows would have been a very important relief valve for many this year – and they will be again.

“At a political level, our engagement has increased with many more contacts being made at the highest level, even under lockdown. Initially, that saw us dealing with the pandemic and its impact on our industry and how best to go forward safely, while playing a pivotal role in ensuring our country is properly and safely fed.

“The first stage of the Scottish Agriculture Bill has passed through Holyrood and should deliver some stability through to 2024, allowing for a new agricultural policy to be developed more suited to Scotland’s future. We are also lobbying Westminster vigorously on the UK Agriculture Bill as it has implications for our sector and future trade agreements and UK frameworks that would give some stability to our most important internal market.

“The distraction of Spring work kept us all busy, but we must now plan for the future and shape a better industry from the things we have learned and were forced on us through necessity.                                                                                                 

  • What do we hold on to?
  • What do we want to get rid of?
  • What do we need to do to be more effective both as businesses and as NFU Scotland?

“As author Charles Swindoll put it: “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond to it.”

“Things must change.  We have seen the vulnerability of the food chain being exposed and food security in policy has risen far higher in public and political minds.

“Consumers have valued the commitment to keep local food on the shelves and I am committed to ensuring this is a part of how future shopping is perceived and done.

“We need to build resilience in the food chain and that would be best done with more collaboration amongst producers and then onwards through processors to retail.

“There needs to be more opportunity to sell direct to consumers which has been a real positive during this pandemic from suppliers and purchasers.     

“There is plenty more work to do.  Let’s all get stuck in with ambition.

“On ambition, I am convinced that this was the very year our Charolais heifer was going to sweep the board at the Highland, all the way through to overall champion.

“I was going to win the Golden Shears in the shearing pavilion on my way past from one political meeting to another. I had the “best soil in show” and the two Vice Presidents were finally going to stand their hand in a round of beers.

“It is not the week we had hoped and planned for but please try and find some time to have a catch up with a few friends and or neighbours.  

“Tomorrow (18 June) would have been the first day of the show and our rural charity RSABI’s fantastic #KeepTalking campaign is asking people to call someone they haven't spoken to in six months for National #KeepTalking Day.

“Why not relax, pick up the phone or set up the laptop, do a bit of “I have better at home banter”, have a video party and plan for next year at a great Highland Show. We all need a bit of unwinding and I encourage all in farming to fins some time to do that this “Highland” show week.”

Author: Andrew McCornick

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About The Author

Andrew McCornick

Andrew, who is married with three sons and a daughter, was born and brought up on a dairy farm in Wigtown. Andrew and wife Janice farm their 230+ ha unit with 160 suckler cows and 600 breeding ewes with a small herd of pedigree Charolais cattle. Andrew's sons farm a nearby tenanted unit which frequently provides replacement breeding stock for Barnbackle. For as long as Andrew can remember, he has been a member of the Union, and got more involved when the consultation for Nithsdale NVZ came out. From there he went onto become vice chairman of the Dumfries branch, and then onto his previous role of Regional Board Chairman for Dumfries and Galloway. He also sat on the LFASS committee. Andrew was elected Vice President in February 2015.

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