22 November 2023
Committee Members will be given a tour of the SRUC hill farms and will meet with staff and students to learn about the challenges facing the hill farming and crofting sectors.
As part of its scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s proposals for future agriculture policy earlier this year, the Committee has already visited an arable farm in Coldstream and several dairy farms in Kirkcudbrightshire. This visit comes just in advance of the Committee formally beginning its scrutiny of the Agriculture & Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill on Wednesday, 29 November 2023.
Members attending the visit will include Committee Convener and leader of the delegation, Finlay Carson MSP; Deputy Convener Beatrice Wishart MSP; Karen Adam MSP; Alasdair Allan MSP; Ariane Burgess MSP: Jim Fairlie MSP and Rhoda Grant MSP.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Committee Convener and leader of the delegation, Finlay Carson MSP, said;
“We really hope that our visit to the SRUC’s Hill and Mountain Research Centre will help us get to grips with the challenges faced by hill farmers and crofters in the same way our visits to Coldstream and Kirkcudbrightshire did for the arable and dairy sectors, earlier this year.
“It’s crucial that we understand what farmers need to see in the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill to best support their farms and help them provide for a just transition.
“Our scrutiny of this framework Bill is now imminent and it’s vital that the voices of all agricultural sectors are heard and help us shape the Bill in a way that will allow the sector to flourish over many years to come.”
Professor Davy McCracken, Head of SRUC's Hill & Mountain Research Centre, said "We will not only emphasise the range of solutions that could be put in place to address the challenges facing hill farming and crofting but also suggest how such solutions could be incorporated into future agricultural and environmental support policies.”
Any media interested in interviewing members either before or during the visit, please contact Hilda Stewart on 07583107104 or via the email provided below.
Further information about the Committee’s scrutiny of agricultural policy in Scotland
Further information about the Agriculture & Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill
The Committee’s previous visits include -
Arable farming partnership, Coldstream/June 2023
3 dairy farms and Carbon Capture Scotland, Kirkcudbrightshire/August 2023
Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) was established in 2012 through the merger of the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) with Barony, Elmwood and Oatridge Colleges and aspires to become Scotland’s enterprise university at the heart of a sustainable natural economy.
Its mission is to create and mobilise knowledge and talent – partnering locally and globally to benefit Scotland’s natural economy by drawing upon its longstanding strengths in world-class and sector-leading research, learning and teaching, skills and training and consultancy (through SAC Consulting).
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