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

Gary Campbell is our guest this week. Gary is the new Chief Executive of the Crofting Commission, having just started his role in January this year. With a background working in both the public and private sectors he talks us through his previous roles, his own family crofting story, what he is planning to achieve in his new CE role and his vision for the Crofting Commission. 
Related FAS Resources: 
Crofting & Smallholders Guide to Organisations
Succession Planning – Crofting | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Crofting Legislation | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

In this podcast we hear from James Biggar who has drastically changed his farming system in recent years. His main aim is to reduce the cost of production with his beef herd which includes the use of forage crops and deferred grazing with bales to outwinter cows. 120 of his cows are kept outside 365 days a year. James talks about the importance of options and having a Plan B in case of a crop failure in his system, this is why he spreads the risk by growing different types of forage crops and has the bale grazing (deferred grazing with bale silage) which breaks up the winter into 3 parts. Lorna speaks about soil health and how important it is setting up for growing a forage crop including the factors you need to think about beforehand. James talks about how he has learnt a lot from going to events and approaching farmers with a similar system.
Related Resources
Chapelton Farm - Pedigree Beef Sires
Event on 14th June 2024: Forage First Systems at Corbieton Farm | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

THRILL OF THE HILL | Farm Business Survey: Part II with Sascha Grierson 
Thrill of the Hill returns for season 5, with an exciting line-up on new and returning guest speakers and specialists in their fields and on their hills.  
With change on the horizon, being on sure footing can be the difference between having a successful business and not. The Farm Business Survey is Scotland's way of establishing the state of our farming communities, benchmarking business performance and generating the data that drives decision-making at the policy level. It is a free service, not costing anything other than time and provides a participant with a set of management accounts, providing valuable insights into your business, it can also be a useful way of collecting the data for those increasingly important carbon audits! It's a win, win, win for those serious about data and keen to progress their business in an informed, measured way.
For those interested in participating in the survey, or if you have any questions for Sascha and the team, you can get them on 07557 661316 or alternatively you can email scottishfarmbusinesssurvey@sac.co.uk. 
Related FAS Resources
Thrill of the Hill - The Farm Business Survey | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Whole farm benchmarks | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

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