Scotland's Farm Advisory Service Podcast

In this podcast we will hear from Martin Beard from the Rare Breed Survival Trust. Martin tells us about what the Rare Breed Survival Trust (RBST) does and the importance of genetic diversity within species. He also talks about the importance of marketing and the supply chain working well. He highlights the RBST conference which will be held on the 23rd March. Linked Resources: Rare Breeds Survival Trust (rbst.org.uk)

This week the Rural Roundup is bringing you something a little different, we spoke to six diversified farm businesses across Scotland, asking them about their journeys, the conversations they had along the way, and the decisions they had to make. This week we’re going to hear the Story of Tina MacPhail, the manager of Grinneabhat Community Space who is joined by Iain MacMillan a crofting consultant at SAC Consulting. Tina MacPhail has worked in hospitality for over 30 years, doing everything from dishwashing to accounting. The community has always played a large part in the roles she has held, as Tina believes Community and Hospitality go hand in hand. Her current role with Grinneabhat Community Hub gives her the opportunity to stay true to her Isle of Lewis roots - her Family, Traditions, Gaelic and crofting and passing it on to others . UCBA (Bragar and Arnol community trust) is the owner of the Grinneabhat community building in North Bragar, Isle of Lewis. The community is at the heart of the Trust. Grinneabhat community building provides community facilities, a community veg garden and market, an exhibition space with regularly changing features, a cafe, self-catering accommodation for 12 in four en-suite rooms, one fully wheelchair accessible, a laundrette and an electric car charging point. UCBA (Bragar and Arnol community trust) is a social enterprise, a small community organisation with big ideas remaining true to itself, with community, family Gaelic and tradition at its heart. Calum Johnston, one of our FAS advisors, sat down with Tina to find out more about this fantastic community resource, and how it helps the crofting communities it serves.   Related Resources: Grinneabhat, Bragar | Hostel & Café | Fàilte is furan Chris Dyer, Garths Croft - Crofting History & Culture | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) For more information visit www.FAS.scot Twitter: @FASScot Facebook: @FASScot National Advice Hub Phone: 0300 323 0161 Email: advice@fas.scot

Welcome back to the Rural Round-up. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode Kerry hears from Farm Advisors, Tiffany, George, and Robert to find out about what’s been going on in the agricultural sector, and Professor Davy McCracken tells us what’s on his desk.   Show Notes  00:40- Rural Roundup  13:25 – What’s coming up – events & resources   15:18- Davy McCracken – What’s on Your Desk, with Professor Davy McCracken  28:33– Outro Related FAS Resources Corncrake | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) How to complete your SAF Online | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Benefits of completing your SAF online video | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Corncrake | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Other Links  Land Parcel Identification System (ruralpayments.org)  Farm Planning In Difficult Times: Energy, Economy, and Ecology Tickets, Mon 13 Mar 2023 at 19:00 | Eventbrite SRUC KIRKTON & AUCHTERTYRE FARMS | Facebook Davy McCracken - LinkedIn Davy McCracken (@DavyMcCracken) / Twitter Davy McCracken’s Profile | Muck Rack Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme (SACGS) (ruralpayments.org) Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF) (ruralpayments.org) For more information, visit www.FAS.scot  Twitter: @FASScot  Facebook: @FASScot   National Advice Hub  Phone: 0300 323 0161  Email: advice@fas.scot

Episode #11 - The Farm Business Survey. On the podcast, we take two things more seriously than anything else - hills and thrills. But if there were a third place, that would go to data. Being able to produce figures to make informed decisions and justify your actions is at the heart of farming, more so now than ever. The Scottish Farm Business Survey offers a free, independent assessment of your business, producing a helpful set of management accounts and the all important carbon audit. Related FAS Materials https://www.fas.scot/whole-farm-benchmarks/ Related External Materials https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-farm-business-income-annual-estimates-2020-2021/documents/

Welcome to CropCast, your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, Tiffany Mactaggart will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field.  Producer George Gauley, Editor Iain Boyd, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with the Scottish Government  In this episode Tiffany Mactaggart is joined by Adam Christie, Managing Director at Scottish Agronomy and Professor Fiona Burnett to discuss winter and spring barley  disease management (For winter wheat, please see Crop Disease Management - Winter Wheat episode).   We discuss T0,T1, T2 & T3 spray timings and what you need to consider for this year's spray programme. Linked FAS Resources  SRUC Crop protection report Crops | SRUC  Scottish Agronomy Homepage - Visit Scottish Agronomy For More Information  Scottish Recommended lists for cereals 2023/24 SAC RL centre pages 2010 (sruc.ac.uk)  AHDB – Fungicide programmes for Barley https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/fungicide-programmes-for-barley

This week the Rural Roundup is bringing you the latest in our series of six diversified farm businesses across Scotland, asking them about their journeys, the conversations they had along the way, and the decisions they had to make. This week we’re going to hear the Story of Lindsay Robertson from Long Island Retreats. A woman who invites Shetland ponies into her home was perhaps always destined to create a crofting experience where visitors get to share her love of animals. Born out of their passion for the land and livestock Lindsay and her partner DJ launched Long Island Retreats & Larder in 2022. The business combines croft tours, croft produce and soon will launch croft accommodation to deliver a fully immersive crofting experience, the first of its kind in the Outer Hebrides, allowing visitors to step off the beaten track and out onto their croft at Loch Skipport, South Uist. Lindsay's background in marketing and business development has been pivotal in the development of the croft business, Calum Johnston, one of our FAS advisors sat down with Lindsay to find out more about this exciting new diversified business. Related Resources Visit South Uist Long Island Retreats Long Island Retreats | Facebook Long Island Retreats & Larder (@longislandretreats) • Instagram photos and videos Long Island Retreats | Linktree For more information visit www.FAS.scot Twitter: @FASScot Facebook: @FASScot National Advice Hub Phone: 0300 323 0161 Email: advice@fas.scot

In this podcast we will hear from Michael Shannon from Damn Delicious. Michael tells us his story from working in the seed business to where he is today running his mixed farm and has diversified his business to include Damn Delicious which direct sells his homegrown produce. Michael talks about his business goals and the influence New Zealand systems had on him and his business. Michael is passionate about food production and gives his opinion on its future in the UK. A relatively new enterprise he speaks about is the Christmas turkeys. He talks about the challenges running that enterprise and the satisfaction he gets from feedback on his produce.   Linked Resources HOME - Damn Delicious Butcher and Farm Shop Scotland  Turkey Production | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Delivering Quality Produce | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Episode #10 – A Cow for the Future. We all think we know a good cow when we see one, but how futureproof is she, and what are the traits the beef industry needs, at an individual cow and herd level to be productive and sustainable? In this episode we hear from agricultural consultant Robert Ramsay about the importance of a range of different features, from tail to temperament, hind legs to horns and how they all come together to form the cow of the future. The beef sector in Scotland has faced some difficult times in recent years and taking a longer view of history has seen dramatic declines since the 1974 when the head of cattle in the national head reached its all time high at 2.68 million cattle. More recently in 2020, we saw an all time low in cow numbers but looking at the most recent Scottish Agricultural Census results, numbers have increased by less than 1% to 1.72 million cattle. With all this in mind, is the sector on track for resurgence - here's hoping.

Welcome back to the Rural Roundup. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode Kerry hears from Farm Advisors, Tiffany, George, and Robert to find out about what’s been going on in the agricultural sector and Phil Knott, Vice Chair of the Scotland Nature Friendly Farming Network tells us what’s on his desk.   00:42- Rural Roundup  19:26 – What’s coming up – events & resources  21:31- Phil Knott – What’s on Your Desk?   35:35 – Outro  FAS Resources  Postponed - Orkney Women in Agriculture Group - Crunching Carbon Audit Results | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) (Please note this event has been postponed.) Scotland's Farm Advisory Service Podcast / Nigel Owens International Rugby Referee - From Pitch to Pasture (audioboom.com) Reducing Inputs: An Integrated Approach | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) How to Reduce your Farm Energy Bills Webinar | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)   Other Links  Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme (SACGS) (ruralpayments.org) Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF) (ruralpayments.org) For more information, visit www.FAS.scot  Twitter: @FASScot  Facebook: @FASScot   National Advice Hub  Phone: 0300 323 0161  Email: advice@fas.scot

Welcome to CropCast, your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, Tiffany Mactaggart will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field.  Producer George Gauley, Editor Iain Boyd, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with the Scottish Government  In this episode Tiffany Mactaggart is joined by Adam Christie, Managing Director at Scottish Agronomy and Professor Fiona Burnett to discuss crop disease management in winter wheat. We also discuss T0,T1, T2 & T3 spray timings and what you need to consider for this year's spray programme.   Linked FAS Resources  SRUC Crop protection report Crops | SRUC  Scottish Agronomy Homepage - Visit Scottish Agronomy For More Information  Scottish Recommended lists for cereals 2023/24 SAC RL centre pages 2010 (sruc.ac.uk)  AHDB – Fungicide programmes for Wheat Fungicide programmes for wheat | AHDB

This week the Rural Roundup is bringing you something a little different, we spoke to six diversified farm businesses across Scotland, asking them about their journeys, the conversations they had along the way, and the decisions they had to make. This week we’re going to hear the Story of Laura Beck, from The Pawpark.  The Pawpark is an exclusive use dog playpark located just outside Hawick in the Scottish Borders. It is run by Laura and Angus Beck alongside the family farming Business with Laura's Parents. The Diversification venture opened in August 2021 and has been a valuable addition to the farm Business. Calum Johnston, one of our FAS advisors, and FAS TV Producers sat down with Laura to find out more about her unique diversification idea.  Show notes: https://www.thepawpark.net/ Katie's free-range corn fed chicken Business located in The Scottish Borders has recently started adding value to the chicken by-products by producing dog treats. https://pasturepoultryuk.com/collections/pasture-poultry-pets ​thepawparkscottishborders@outlook.com For more information, visit www.FAS.scot Twitter: @FASScot Facebook: @FASScot National Advice Hub Phone: 0300 323 0161 Email: advice@fas.scot

*Content Warning: This episode discusses themes of suicide and may not be suitable for all listeners*  Mary-Jane Lawrie talks to Nigel Owens, a Welsh former international rugby union referee, who retired in December 2020 after a 17-year career. He currently holds the world record for the most test matches refereed and is one of five international referees listed as professional within the Welsh Rugby Union.  Nigel has recently purchased his own farm and has started a pedigree Hereford herd.  He talks about his early involvement in agriculture, his rugby career, his mental health struggles and his sexuality, and what he enjoys about farming.   FAS Resources Health is Your Wealth: Physical and Mental Resilience | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) Other Resources Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen RSABI: Home Page Stonewall Switchboard LGBT+ Helpline

Welcome back to the Rural Round-up. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode Kerry hears from Farm Advisors, Tiffany, George, and Robert to find out about what’s been going on in the agricultural sector and Diana Garduño Jiménez from Nourish joins us to tell us what’s on their desk, and about their toe health.   Show Notes  00:34- Rural Roundup  22:53 - Interview with Diana from Nourish  31:00- Outro   FAS Resources  Podcast: Thrill of The Hill - Working for Waders | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Thrill of the Hill - Working for Waders Part 2 | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Other Links  Soil Association Certification  Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (ruralpayments.org)  Big Farmland Bird Count - Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (bfbc.org.uk)  NatureScot  Agroecology: enabling the transition - Nourish Scotland Pasture Poultry Feed Group– West Coast Focus. For more info contact:  clem.sandison@landworkersalliance.org.uk  Market Gardening Group – Central Scotland. For more info contact: aallamand@soilassociation.org  Supporting Biodiversity within Island-Based Farming & Crofting Group – Islay, Jura, Gigha and Colonsay.  For more info contact: kirsty.tait@nffn.org.uk  Grazing Group – North East Scotland. For more info contact: nikki@pastureforlife.org  Soil Health Group – South West Scotland. For more info contact: abi@propagate.org.uk  Biodiversity & Profitability Group – Scottish Borders. For more info contact: diana@nourishscotland.org.uk  For more information, visit www.FAS.scot  Twitter: @FASScot  Facebook: @FASScot  National Advice Hub  Phone: 0300 323 0161  Email: advice@fas.scot

The incredible transformation of Cairns Farm from hill sheep farm to a gorgeous destination wedding and events venue is a wonderful success story from Caroline Hamilton and her husband, fourth generation farmer Graham. Caroline has three adult children, and whilst none of the three were keen to take on the hill farming aspect of the business, all three were incredibly proud of their home and heritage, and worked with Caroline to ensure it’s future success. Caroline at Cairns farm started the incredible £1.9 million diversification project in 2017, and weathered many issues with the project through Covid and Brexit, resulting in a gorgeous and unique wedding and events venue.   Calum Johnston, one of our FAS advisors, and FAS TV Producers sat down with Caroline at her kitchen table, to find out the details.  https://www.cairnsfarmestate.co.uk/ For more information, visit www.FAS.scot Twitter: @FASScot Facebook: @FASScot National Advice Hub Phone: 0300 323 0161 Email: advice@fas.scot

Episode #9 – Digging Deep on Soil Carbon. In this episode we hear from Senior Scientific Lead Rachael Ramsay about the scientific consensus around soil carbon, its impact on farm carbon footprints, options to reduce atmospheric carbon and whether soil is the silver bullet in the fight against climate change.  There is an increasing awareness of the role of soil, grassland, peatland and atmospheric carbon capture in the pursuit of net zero emissions. The Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations suggests that the soil around the world has the capacity to capture 20 gigaton of carbon over a period of 25 years, the equivalent of 10% of global emissions - demonstrating the power of improved soil management and building soil carbon reserves.  Catch up on our previous soils episode with Dr Bill Crooks here https://www.fas.scot/publication/podcast-the-thrill-of-the-hill-renewables/ and for more information on improving soil management, check out Farming for a Better Climate here https://www.farmingforabetterclimate.org/improving-farm-profitability/soils-fertilisers-and-manures/.

In this podcast we will hear from Nicola Lambe and Claire Morgan-Davies, who are based at SRUC Hill & Mountain Research Centre, Kirkton & Auchtertyre Farms. They talk about the projects they are involved in. One of Nicola’s projects is a breeding program at Kirkton where they are crossbreeding sheep to maximise efficiencies and with the aim of creating a composite breed.  Claire is involved in EU projects EuroSheep looking at issues in sheep farming across the EU and working on solutions to overcome these issues, the SMART project which is looking at technologies in sheep farming and the Take Care project.  They both highlight the importance of hill farming and are fairly positive about its future in the industry.   Related Resources EU Projects at Kirkton: TechCare Project – Integrating innovative TECHnologies along the value Chain to improve small ruminant welfARE management (techcare-project.eu) Sm@rt | Sm@ll Ruminant Technologies Platform (smartplatform.network) EuroSheep | European Knowledge Exchange Breeding Program Breeding and management strategies for sheep in the Scottish hills and uplands to meet future economic, environmental and climatic challenges | SEFARI

Welcome back to the Rural Roundup. Happy New Year and a Happy Burns Night from all of us at the Farm Advisory Service! This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode we will join Farm Advisors, Tiffany, George, and Robert to find out about what’s been going on in the agricultural sector, we bring you an update on some new Farm Advisory Service resources, events, and other events happening in industry, and Siobhan MacDonald, host of our sister podcast, Crofting Matters, to take us on a quick whistlestop tour of the Crofting Matter series.  Show Notes  00:07 – Intro with Kerry  00:59 – Rural Roundup with Tiffany, Robert & George  18:49– What's coming up from the Farm Advisory Service & what's happening in industry  26:39 – Find out more about the Crofting Matters Podcast 38:15 – Details of our next episodes  FAS Resources  Crofting Matters | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Common Grazings Dilemmas | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Crofting Legislation | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Ayrshire Women in Agriculture Group - Distillery & Anaerobic Digestion Plant Visit | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Agribusiness News January 2023 | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Milk Manager News January 2023 | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  FAS TV | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service Morayshire New Entrants - Forage Crops | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Online Training for Practical Skills - Sheep Dipping Uist | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  The Trading Market for Farmland Carbon | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Other Links  Siobhan Macdonald | LinkedIn  High Nature Value Farmland- the key to a nature-rich future in Scotland? Tickets, Tue 31 Jan 2023 at 19:00 | Eventbrite  Reducing Inputs: An Integrated Approach (soilassociation.org)  Farmstrong Scotland Events | Eventbrite  For more information, visit www.FAS.scot  Twitter: @FASScot  Facebook: @FASScot  National Advice Hub  Phone: 0300 323 0161  Email: advice@fas.scot

Welcome to CropCast, your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, Tiffany Mactaggart will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field.  Producer George Gauley, Editor Iain Boyd, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with the Scottish Government  In this episode Tiffany Mactaggart is joined by Natalie Wood, agronomy operations manager at YARA UK & Ireland along with George Chalmers, a senior agricultural consultant at SAC Consulting, to discuss best practice for applying nitrogen efficiently this coming season.  Related FAS Resources Technical Note (TN731) Nitrogen for Cereals, Rapeseed & Potatoes (fas.scot) Other Related Resources Fertiliser application and spreading advice | Yara UK Agronomy podcasts | Grow the future | Yara UK Nitrogen-Use Efficiency | Grow the Future | Yara UK Yara UK on Twitter: "Our latest podcast is available! 🎧✔️ Yara agronomist Natalie Wood talks to Ken Rundle about the role micronutrients play in crop establishment and how they are no less important than macronutrients.🌱💧 Listen here 👉 https://t.co/S8cvADqc3T https://t.co/Bs0V9sI5Fe" / Twitter Natalie Wood - Agronomy Operations Manager - Yara International | LinkedIn

This week the Rural Roundup is bringing you something a little different, we spoke to six diversified farm businesses across Scotland, asking them about their journeys, the conversations they had along the way, and the decisions they had to make. This week we’re going to hear the story of Jock Gibson from Edinvale Farm. Jock is a partner of Edinvale Farms and Managing Director of Macbeth’s Butchers, both family owned businesses. Jock and his wife Fiona farm cattle and sheep in Moray and are 'Pasture for Life Certified' they also run Macbeth's Butchers in Forres, operate an online-shop / mail order butchery, and have an honesty shed shop on-farm. Listen in as Jock tells us about the decisions they made along their journey. Related Resources Macbeth's - Scottish online butcher and game dealer (macbeths.com) Edinvale Farm | Forres | Facebook Edinvale Farm – Pasture for Life – Certified 100% grass-fed meat, milk and dairy For more information, visit www.FAS.scot Twitter: @FASScot Facebook: @FASScot National Advice Hub Phone: 0300 323 0161 Email: advice@fas.scot

Mary-Jane Lawrie talks to Richard and Fiona Lamb of Fordhead Farm, Kippen, about how they have diversified their farming business and how they have adapted to the many challenges that starting new ventures has thrown at them. Richard and Fiona Lamb are the definition of ‘give it a go’. From exiting the Metropolitan Police and dipping toes, (and losing part of a finger) in their entry to farming, Fiona and Richard have faced more than their fair share of hurdles. One thing that has always been consistent in their business endeavours, is that if they don’t give it a try, they’ll never know what could happen. From camping sites, to woodlands, grass trials, firewood, farm accommodation, tea growing, Gin production, Farm shop and café, insect farming, and hemp production, the Lambs have been there, done it and learned lessons along the way.   Related FAS Resources Engaging with Consumers - Part 1 | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) Engaging With Consumers - Part 2 | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) Adding Value | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) Grant Support For Croft Woodland Creation: A Comparison | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) Other Related Resources The Woodhouse Kippen  Ginti- The Scottish Tea Gin (gintigin.co.uk)  Forth Valley Leader :: Case Study "Tea Plantation at Fordhead Farm" (fvl.org.uk)  Matthew Lamb of Fordhead Farm tells us a bit about their venture into growing tea in the Forth Valley! | By Forth Valley & Lomond CLLD | Facebook  From holiday lets, to gin, to tea and more - diversification paying for Stirlingshire family farm - Insights - Farmers Guardian (fginsight.com)