Summer Spotlight
There is a tremendous amount of valuable information produced by the FAS every year. This spotlight page, updated every April, July, October and January, highlights those topics which we believe will be of particular interest to many of you right now.
Water Management
Water management is becoming a critical issue for Scottish farms. Our weather patterns are becoming increasingly erratic, with some of the hottest temperatures on record alongside periods where sunshine has been in short supply. A consequence of these changing patterns are more droughts, water scarcity and flooding.
Effective water management helps farmers capture and store water during wet periods, use it efficiently during dry spells, protect valuable soils from erosion and runoff, reduce flood risk, and safeguard crop and livestock production. Our water management pages provide a wealth of information to help you plan and increase your resilience to changing weather patterns.
Soils and Grassland
Summer is an ideal time to take stock of the most valuable asset on your farm – your soil. Once crops and grass are actively growing it is often easier to pinpoint issues such as compaction, drainage problems, nutrient deficiencies or poor soil structure. The drier conditions also provide a good opportunity to dig soil pits and assess soil health in more detail.
Our soil structure and compaction pages have a number of resources to help you identify areas for improvement on your land.
Grassland
While the grazing season is well underway, now is also a good time to review your grazing strategy and consider whether changes could improve productivity and resilience.
- Could rotational grazing make better use of available forage?
- Would introducing multi-species swards improve soil health, drought resilience and livestock performance?
- Are there underperforming fields that should be prioritised within a future reseeding programme?
Taking notes on what is working – and what is not – provides a valuable record for future planning, as many of the challenges and opportunities identified this season can easily be forgotten by next year. Assessing soils and grassland performance now also gives you time to plan and implement remedial action during the autumn, helping to build a more productive and resilient farming system.
Livestock Updates Straight To Your Phone
We have recently launched a pilot of a new way to communicate to livestock farmers. Our livestock whatsapp group exists to provide you with quick updates on topical livestock issues in a quick and easily accessible format.
To join the group and get these updates directly to your phone simply scan the QR code below.
Getting The Most Out Of FAS
The FAS website contains a huge amount of information, but there are lots of other ways to get even more out of the FAS.
We have eight different podcast feeds, each covering a different area of Scottish Agriculture. From inspiring personal stories on Agri Culture to in-dept business analysis from BPN Audio, there’s something for everyone.
The FAS Youtube Channel has over 1000 videos for you to watch, including 5 seasons of FAS TV. There are videos on policy, efficiency, biodiversity and more.
Almost all FAS events are booked through Eventbrite so follow us on there to ensure you never miss a notification.
Finally, FAS publishes 8 different newsletters straight to your inbox, with timely updates and the occasional important bulletin to ensure you’re always up to date on what’s going on in your part of the industry. Subscribe here.
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