Scotland's Farm Advisory Service Podcast Scotland's Farm Advisory Service Podcast

It’s a brand-new series of Natural Capital with a brand-new host! To kick things off Harry speaks to Scottish Forestry’s Lyn White, who is their forestry and farming development officer. Lyn promotes an integrated approach to farming and forestry, to aid understanding and explore opportunities for them to work more effectively together. We discuss working with farmers to maximise the benefits to farms, the farmer-led Integrating Trees Network and all things agroforestry. We discuss the multiple benefits that planting trees can bring to agriculture, including providing shelter, improving productivity, diversifying income, creating habitats and combating climate change.  
Host Harry Fisher, Producer Iain Boyd, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, Editor Ross Mackenzie 
 
Related FAS resources:   
Natural Capital | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Farm Woodland resources for farmers from Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Integrated Land Management Plans (ILMPs) | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Forestry Grant Scheme | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
 
Other Related Resources: 
Scottish Forestry - Integrating Trees Network
Integrating Trees Network Events
Forestry Grant Scheme (ruralpayments.org)
Scottish Forestry - Home
 
Timestamps: 
0:55 – 15:05 Lyn’s role and the benefits of agroforestry and integrating trees to farmland.   
15:06 – 26:05 Agroforestry, considerations, challenges, and grant options. 
26:06 – 33:52 Integrating trees network and farmer led initiatives. 
33:53 – 40:05 Farmer hesitancies, where to get more info and making the most of your land. 

IPM (Integrated pest management) is set to become a key feature of the Scottish agricultural reform route map from 2025. In this episode Tiffany Stephenson is joined by Phil Jarvis & Amy Geddes from the voluntary initiative to discuss IPM. What is it and how do farmers go about getting started. 
Cropcast is your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, Tiffany Stephenson will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field. 
Producer George Gauley, Editor Cameron Waugh, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with the Scottish Government. 
Related Resources:
VI Page on IPM
AHDB – IPM Hub
NFU – IPM Plan
Plant health centre – IPM for arable crops or grass, also horticultural.
Scottish Agricultural Reform Route Map

Welcome to the second episode of In Conversation With… hosted this month by Senior Sheep and Beef Consultant Kirsten Williams. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode Kirsten is joined by Poppy Frater (Senior Consultant, SAC Consulting) and Kerr Adams (Research Scientist, The James Hutton Institute). They discuss grass and water management and look at how to build resilience into a system. Also, the wet winter, late spring and how to manage grass growth and maximise productivity. To round off the discussion, our panel look ahead to the summer months, trends and how to plan for possible drought problems.  
Episode Timestamps  
00.00 Introduction  
01.29 Making best use of pasture 
02.35 Three leaf rule 
04.19 Grass target heights – hitting the sweet spot 
05.45 Value of rest 
10.30 Effect of a changing climate on water availability  
11:55 Climatic water balance projections 
15.23 Water footprint 
18.52 Strategies to increase water holding capacity  
21.59 Sheep are the solution! 
22.15 Building resilience into the system 
25.45 Learning from others 
28.18 Software to help manage supply and demand. Scenario planning. 
32.42 Forage crops 
33.16 Cashflow 
34.35 Change one little thing 
38.50 Key message for managing grass supplies 
39.34 Key message for managing water supplies  
41.17 Kirsten's take home message  
FAS Resources 
www.fas.scot/publication/resilient-technology-options-for-water-management-on-farm/  
www.fas.scot/article/water-scarcity-and-rising-temperatures/  
www.fas.scot/publication/feast-or-famine-water-on-your-farm-water-scarcity-video/  
Other Resources  
www.hutton.ac.uk  
www.crew.ac.uk/  
www.sruc.ac.uk/business-services/sac-consulting/agricultural-production/grassland-management/grazeup/ 
www.farmingandwaterscotland.org  
www.rsabi.org.uk 
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot 
Twitter: @FASScot 
Facebook: @FASScot 
National Advice Hub 
Phone: 0300 323 0161 
Email: advice@fas.scot 

Welcome back to the Rural Round-up hosted by me, Kerry Hammond. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode I’m joined by George Chalmers and Tiffany Stephenson who chat all things Carbon. Carbon Audits, emissions reductions and more.  
FAS Resources 
Carbon Audits | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) 
Specialist Advice | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) 
Other Resources  
Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF) (ruralpayments.org) 
Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (ruralpayments.org) 
Carbon Literacy for rural industries | Keep Scotland Beautiful 
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot 
Twitter: @FASScot 
Facebook: @FASScot 

Along with our regular monthly updates on policy briefs, arable, beef, sheep and milk, In this edition we are also bringing you sector overviews on sector overviews on pigs and Scottish hemp production for fibre products. We will also be bringing you news on straw alternatives and managing winter forages. 
Show Notes  
00:43 - News in Brief 
02:45 Policy Briefs - Agricultural Reform Route Map update 
08: 19 Arable- Wet weather leaves 2024 crop yield uncertain. 
13:33 Beef - Finished price rising; dairy-beef trends. 
17:50 Sheep - Gap widens between import prices & record UK prices. 
20:49 Sector Focus – Pig update. 
26:42 Milk - Volumes down and grass growth poor. 
31:58 Sector focus – Scottish hemp production for fibre products  
36:35 Management Matters - Straw alternatives 
41:41 Inputs - Managing winter forages 

FAS Resources 
Agribusiness News May 2024 | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  

Other Links: 
Plant Health Centre website 
The consultation on cattle identification and traceability in Scotland  
Progressing to Net Zero 
Mark Bowsher-Gibbs mark.bowsher-gibbs@sac.co.uk. 
https://www.fas.scot/downloads/alternative-bedding-materials/  
Feed and forage calculator | AHDB. 
 
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot 
Twitter: @FASScot 
Facebook: @FASScot 
 
National Advice Hub 
Phone: 0300 323 0161 
Email: advice@fas.scot 

Mary-Jane Lawrie is joined by Jenn Stewart.  Jenn Stewart, partner & Head of Rural and Landed Estates at Johnston Carmichael, joined the company in 2019. Jenn has extensive experience in advising owner managed businesses and provides counsel to a wide-ranging portfolio of clients across multiple sectors. Jenn was brought up in her own family farming business and is now involved in her husband’s farming business. Jenn talks to us about the topic and theme of succession. A succession plan provides a level of certainty for everyone to ensure the ongoing sustainability and financial sustainability of the business, therefore the earlier this topic is brought to the table the better.   
Related FAS Resources  
You can get funding for succession planning through FAS.  See Specialist Advice | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  
Other Resources  
Johnston Carmichael | Chartered Accountants  
Jenn Stewart LinkedIn  Jenn Stewart - Partner, Head of Rural & Landed Estates & Dundee Office Head - Johnston Carmichael Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers | LinkedIn  
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot 
Twitter: @FASScot 
Facebook: @FASScot 
National Advice Hub 
Phone: 0300 323 0161 
Email: advice@fas.scot