Chamber and committees

There is no doubt that the prolonged dry period has compounded problems for farmers and crofters already coping with the wet weather of 2017 and subsequent late spring. Amongst other problems, the dry weather has limited the growth in grass used for making silage or livestock grazing purposes and this has resulted in the need for farmers and crofters to use up feed and fodder stocks that were being saved for use in the winter ahead. In other cases, it is reported that some farmers have had no choice but to sell on their livestock early.

That is why I have acted immediately to reintroduce a scheme to make available Basic Payment loans. The similar 2017 scheme delivered payments of more than £317 million to around 13,500 farmers and I expect this new scheme to be equally successful delivering much-needed support to those agricultural businesses facing additional costs and cashflow shortages following an unprecedented sequence of weather events.

More generally, the current situation continues to be closely monitored by the Agricultural Weather Advisory Panel which I established in December 2017. The Panel acts as a taskforce for rapidly sharing information, best practice and encouraging co-operation across industry, and in conjunction with the Farm Advisory Service is helping farmers and crofters respond effectively to challenging weather conditions, both in the short term and in building longer term resilience.

The Panel last met on 8 August when it discussed the short-term implications of continued dry and warm weather and their latest statement is available online at: https://beta.gov.scot/groups/agricultural-weather-advisory-panel/