Leading the way building Scottish agri-tourism
The farm businesses to host Scotland’s two new agri-tourism monitor projects – aimed at helping enterprises to develop, boost the local economy and encourage similar ventures – have been announced.
Castleton Farm in North Berwick, run by Stuart and Jo Mcnicol, is a cereals unit where the family has recently developed a new café on cliffs overlooking the sea, to add to their existing events business.
Shantron Farm in Dunbartonshire is a hill farm operated by the Lennox family who have run an agri-tourism business offering farm accommodation for more than 30 years.
Working with other farms, estates and crofts, it is hoped that the £235,000 Scottish Enterprise funded monitor farm project will help improve the profitability, productivity and sustainability of the businesses taking part and those attending the meetings through practical demonstrations and sharing of best practice.
Announcing the choice of farms from a strong short list, rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing said: “We want farmers and crofters to become more productive, profitable and sustainable, adapting to new practices and willing
to innovate in order to secure business viability for future generations.
“Shantron and Castleton Farms are fantastic examples of farmers developing agri-tourism, which has not only driven new income streams, but has also generated thousands of visitors on to farms to learn about food and how it is produced. That is why I have asked them to engage with their peers to share their experience, best practice and facilitate discussions within the sector.
He said he hoped the investment in skills and knowledge sharing would contribute to the continued growth of the vibrant agri-tourism sector in Scotland, a key part of the country’s new food tourism strategy.
The Mcnicols said that they already had an existing business running weddings and events on site to supplement the income from 430 acres of grain.
“But we would like to develop the agri-tourism,
local food and educational element of the experience, to create a year-round destination,” said Stuart Mcnicol.
“Part of this development is our new venture of running a café – Drift – so we applied to become monitor farmers to gain support, ideas and knowledge from our peers. We also wish to share our learnings with others and take them on a journey with us as we grow our business.”
The Lennox family – who starred in BBC’S This Farming Life – said they had been in both farming and tourism for a long time and by combining the two much more smartly, they wanted to develop a distinctive and innovative agri-tourism product:
“As monitor farmers we hope that other farmers can also learn alongside us on how to tell and sell their farming story much more effectively,” added Bobby Lennox.