Hub to help young people into farming

A joint venture farming hub will be launched at AgriScot next week to help connect farm owners who are ready to retire from day-to-day duties with young people who want a foothold in the industry but don’t have any land.

“There’s a generation of enthusiastic and talented young people who feel they cannot get a foothold in agriculture thanks to the soaring price of land and a lack of land availability,” said Andrew McCornick, president of NFU Scotland, which has initiated the new hub.

“At the same time, a huge number of farm owners are approaching retirement with no clear successor to run the operational side of their business, leaving them with the feeling they have no choice but to divide up and sell off the farm they have spent decades, even generations, building up.”

Presenting the new hub as the perfect platform to allow retiring and aspiring farmers to collaborate and explore new opportunities, NFUS has also been working with consultants, accountants and lawyers to ensure future hubintroduced partners have access to a full package of support.

Already named as hub partner firms are Johnston Carmichael, Gillespie Macandrew, Brodies LLP, Shepherd and Wedderburn, Savills and SAC Consulting, with NFUS members being promised access to “specially negotiated hub arrangements” with each business.

“The hub will provide information on share farming, contract farming, tenancies and case studies,” said NFUS, “alongside a map service where individuals can register to either offer an opportunity or advertise themselves when looking for an opportunity”.