29 Jun Fraser’s Agri Round Up
The Royal Highland Show is often a busy few days for the Agri committee and this year was certainly that! Aided by a few gallon of suncream, James, Myself and other members of the SLT attended many events all across the show field over the course of the week from QMS breakfasts, to Scottish Government meetings, and of course, our very own Agri and Rural Affairs reception.
We kicked off the show bright and early on Thursday morning with the QMS breakfast amongst many other industry representatives. The event featured introductions from Kate Rowell, Chair of QMS, and Sarah Millar, Chief Executive, where they gave us a snapshot of the current state of affairs in the Red meat industry, highlighting the high market demand for Scottish produce. They then welcomed Cabinet secretary for Rural Affairs Mhairi Gougeon who spoke in support of Scottish Farmers and crafters, saying βwe have no policy to reduce livestock, as all that would do is replace our high-quality product with alternatives from elsewhere that may not be produced to the same high welfare and environmental standards,β – a comment that was met by great applause from the audience. The cabinet secretary also took the opportunity to officially announce the Future Farming Investment Scheme, committing Β£14 million to improve efficiency, sustainability and environmental management. This scheme, which the Agri committee has been calling for, will hopefully be a fantastic opportunity for young farmers and new entrants to invest in their businesses and drive growth, and we are delighted to hear it being confirmed.
Next on the agenda was our very own Agri and Rural Affairs reception. This year, without our own venue, we were kindly hosted in the Scottish Government Marquee. This gave us a perfect opportunity to show our thanks and appreciation for the support that Sayfc has received, especially the generous contribution that the Scottish government gave towards the hire of the YF Marquee. We were delighted with the turnout at our reception with Jim Fairlie, Minister for Agriculture, Cabinet Secretary Mhairi Gougeon and many Government officials, industry leaders, NFUS representatives and civil servants in attendance. It was also great to have representatives from a number of different political parties there. The reception was held in conjunction with NFUS Next Generation committee, having lots of commonalities with us at Agri. It would also mark the one year anniversary of our partnership agreement between the two organisations which was unveiled at the show last year. During the reception we had a speech from the Jim Fairlie, in which he mentioned that Young Farmers are the bedrock of the industry and also the future of the industry. In his support of Young Farmers he then announced that the Scottish Government would match fund our Big Build fundraising campaign to the sum of Β£98,000. An amazing announcement that definitely took us all by surprise!
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who came along to our reception, to Ben McClymont of NFUS next gen for helping with their collaboration and to our very own staff member Jennifer Murtagh for pulling it all together.
We rounded off a busy day with the Scottish Farmerβs Big Farm debate, hosted at their stand across the avenue. Up for discussion was what has been the greatest industry revolution – Soil Science, Agricultural Engineering, Women in Agriculture, or Plant Breeding. A hotly contested debate followed, with the audience picking Soil science as their favourite on the day.
NFUs big debate was up next, with representatives from Scottish Conservatives, Labour, Greens and Lim Dems on the hot seats facing questions from the floor, and gave an interesting insight into the cross-party politics and political views on issues from climate change, to forestry and new entrants.
We then headed over to the Forestry Area to support our members taking part in the Pole Climb! It was great to see our very own North Agri Chair Callum Simpson win the competition having made it to the top of the pole the fastest, well done Callum! According to Callum the view from the top was pretty good!
We then had a surprise visitor to our Big Build stand in the form of Chairman of NatWest Group Richard Haythornthwaite, who was most interested to hear all about our Big Build campaign and also young farmers as an organisation. It was a great chance to highlight the benefits of being a member of young farmers and the opportunities that are available to someone that was not from an agricultural background.
Following on from this we headed to the BASC reception held at their stand in the countryside area. BASC were very hospitable and keen to support SAYFC and our members through organised shooting events, game keeping talks, gun dog training and countryside conservation events. It was also nice to catch up with Jim Fairlie once again, over some coronation pigeon tacos provided by BASC – Delicious!
Our final reception of the day was hosted by the Scottish Government at their own stand. It was great to hear again from both Jim Fairlie and Mhairi Gougeon, and for them to reiterate their commitment to supporting Scottish agriculture and the food and products that we are proud to produce. It was also another great opportunity to socialise and network with many representatives from across the industry over a welcome refreshment, weary from the heat of the day!
Overall, the committee had a really great show jam packed with productive meetings and receptions, made all the better in the glorious sunshine. There were a number of success stories to take away this year, from government support commitments, strong public support for Scottish produce, to building relationships and connecting with industry stakeholders. Most importantly however, it was fantastic to meet and hear from so many of our grassroots members who are the real motivation behind our committees work. We look forward to doing it all again next year, with the added excitement of welcoming you all to our new Young Farmers HQ!