The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Political issues could drain colour from rural landscape
Ididn’t see the recent strong sheep trade coming. It feels like, damn it all, we’re all going to need to eat, whatever the uncertainties on exports post-Brexit, or trade deals with the US which could open the flood gates to imported food with lower standards.
It’s all going fine, political elite tell us.
Our food labelling will be clear and w e’ l l know exactly what we’re buying – just as crystal clear as it was with the horse meat debacle.
I’ve met many young talented faces around the socially- distanced sheep pens and ma r t s I’ve attended this autumn. Maybe the coronavirus restrictions which allow just one buyer per business to attend has concentrated minds for the future.
Armed with mobile phones and loaded with breeding information, I faced hard questioning on my flock’s performance – and it made a refreshing change.
All four nations have been represented, from the hills of the west, down to fertile arable lands in the east. It seems grazing livestock are at last being recognised for playing a critical role in soil health, b i o d i v e r s i t y, habitat creation and vital food production.
The Lairg tup pens are where I met Max.
Young, tall, with a mop of blond hair and wearing shorts in October – he was definitely not a local – he had travelled all the way up from South Wales and was needing North Country Cheviot Hill tups to put across his Romney ewes to breed their f a r m’s replacements.
He did his bidding and the
went home with two tups, disappointed that he couldn’t stay for the ewes sale the next day – but he had to get back to sit his driving test.
Ma x left a lasting impression. His energy, drive and enthusiasm, as with the many other young women and men I’ve met r e c e n t l y, is what our industry needs to move ahead.
Meanwhile for more
I’m braced political
showboating over the next few months as trade talks continue to grab the headlines. Like others, I’m trying to work out what these changes mean to our futures.
What does it matter to the politicians if there’s a f ew fewer crofters or farmers around?
I suspect we’re just seen as a very insignificant loss to the Dominic Cummings of the world.
Armadale is a crofting
township of around 30 houses and our hall committee is currently project-managing the final stages of a new village hall rebuild costing £450,000, including legal expenses and land acquisition.
When complete it’ll be a warm welcoming space for folk to come together and also provide toilets, showers and electric car charging points for visitors.
Everyone on the hall
committee is a crofter. We all have other jobs, but our involvement with the land is the common thread and means we are intertwined in the social fabric of our communities.
The political uncertainty we’re currently undergoing could drain the colour from the rural landscape right across the country.
Ke e p lobbying your politicians, ask hard questions and keep telling
the stories behind your communities. Each story is special and unique from whatever part of the country you hail.
D o n’ t let our rural landscape, or the folk living there, become another shade of beige like the food that will flood in if Boris and his chums get their way.
Joyce Campbell farms at Armadale on the north coast of Sutherland.