The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
A ‘real buzz’ as the Royal Highland Show begins.
Ingliston is Mecca for farmers from all corners
The stage is set for almost 200,000 people from “all corners of Scotland” and further afield to attend the biggest event on the country’s farming calendar.
The final preparations for the Royal Highland Show in Ingliston were being put in place last night as farmers from across the country began descending on the showground with some 2,500 livestock animals in tow.
And organisers last night said they were “absolutely prepared” for any adverse weather, with a Met Office yellow warning of thunderstorms and heavy rain forecast for this morning.
Chief executive of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, Alan Laidlaw, said “We have planned for a busy showground. We got over 185,000 people last year and we’re hoping to build on that again.”
Among those who made the journey down yesterday was Jim Muirhead, of Firhills Farm, Arbroath.
The 67-year-old said the event is an annual tradition for his family, who will be showing off their British Charolais heifers and a young bull.
New forestry grants worth up to £240,000 for planting 50ha of farm woodland have triggered an unprecedented outbreak of enthusiasm for trees from farming leaders.
The Scottish Government’s announcement of the Sheep and Trees Forestry Grants Package followed negotiation with the National Sheep Association and the farmers’ union, which welcomed the package.
The scheme will help farmers integrate new woodlands of between 10ha-50ha into their farms and there will also be funding towards an infrastructure grant, allowing farmers to build access routes.
The new funding will not affect an applicant’s Basic Payments.
Forestry Commission head Jo O’Hara said carefully managed woodlands could increase farm productivity and provide many other benefits.
“The funding package creates an excellent opportunity to diversify and take advantage of land previously not considered possible due to a lack of access,” she said.
“Creating new woodland can offer sheep farmers an added flexibility to manage their land to its best potential and keep a regular income coming in.”
Sheep farmers have been wary of planting trees following the widespread loss of entire farms to blanket afforestation in the past.
However NFU Scotland’s policy director, Jonnie Hall, said this package presented an opportunity to plant the right trees in the right place.
“Done well, it can provide valuable shelter belts grown on poorer areas, improve the overall health and management of the flock, be a route into upgrading fencing and access and provide a diversified income stream,” he added.
“There is an important role for forestry within the Scottish agricultural sector and this scheme shows that woodlands can be better integrated into agricultural land use, without compromising our ability to produce livestock and crops or the significance of those activities to local economies, biodiversity and communities.
Further information can be found at www.forestry.gov.uk/scotlandgrants.
Creating new woodland can offer sheep farmers an added flexibility to manage their land to its best potential ... JO O’HARA FORESTRY COMMISSION