Looking to the Future at FAS Conference

 

On 30^th January farmers from across Scotland gathered at a sell-out event to discuss Farming for the Future. The conference, hosted by the Farm Advisory Service, featured a variety of speakers and industry bodies who shared first-hand experience, insights and practical strategies for farmers to future-proof their land and their people. Common themes from the speakers were the need to sell our industry better to encourage more young people in, and to embrace technology into everyday practices.

Highlights from the day included an inspirational talk from Robert Chapman, Chairman and former Managing Director of Farmlay Eggs, on how he has grown the family business from 130 acres to being a company that turns over £50m and the second largest egg packer in Scotland. Robert also shared how his business tackles environmental issues and feels there are huge opportunities for landowners in renewables such as wind and solar.

A lively Q&A session featured panellists Cammy Wilson of The Sheep Game fame, Kay Adam from Newhouse of Glamis, Susannah Pate from Jane Craigie Marketing and William Brown, Farmers Guardian Content Creator of the Year. They discussed how we can market the industry to improve public perception and attract new people in, highlighting the need to invest the time to train the next generation, as well as school children and teachers. A key point raised was that there are many roles in the agricultural industry beyond being a farmer that can make a difference, and social media can help shine a light on the realities of the industry to a wider audience. Availability of land, and different routes into farming were highlighted, such as contract farming agreements, and how these can potentially aid both the retiring and new generations. The panel also shared what they love about farming, including the lifestyle, the people you meet, the traditions and that every day is different.

Aidan Murray, Scheme Support Unit Manager for Teagasc, shared the key challenges to farmers in Ireland, and how agricultural stakeholders and the Irish Government work in collaboration and have various industry initiatives to assist in driving the industry forward.

SAC Consulting’s sheep and grassland specialist Poppy Frater gave a passionate talk on the relevance of ruminant livestock for the future of farming.  Highlighting that 60% of the UK total soil carbon is stored in grassland, Poppy stated that as an industry we must increase efforts to reduce emissions through diverse swards, maximising grassland, reducing N fertilisers, agroforestry, and hedge planting.

Farmer and ex-Scotland rugby player Rob Wainwright explained how he is farming and improving his biodiverse rich land on the Isle of Coll using virtual fence collars to allow for efficiency of grazing, bracken control and planting of small coppices of trees and many more benefits - watch his full interview below . Ann Elinor Aasen from Monil explained the hardware further and how this solar powered collar can monitor and track animal movement and health.

 

 

Matthew Anderson, an organic hill farmer who attended the event said: “I've enjoyed most hearing about some of the new technology which farmers are using, like no-fence collars, I'm interested in using that to be able to manage my grazing better. I've got about a thousand sheep and a hundred cows, and they're outside on grass all year round with as low input as possible.”

Kirsten Williams from SAC Consulting, who chaired the event, said: “It was great to see such a diverse crowd of new entrants, established farmers and industry professionals coming together to hear from the inspirational speakers on how they are planning for the future, embracing technology and AI and the different methods of informing the public about the industry. There are great opportunities within the sector, however we need to invest time to attract the next generation, engage with our consumer and showcase the strengths of the industry.”