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

Welcome to the first episode of In Conversation With… hosted this month by Principal Consultant Mark Bowsher-Gibbs. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode Mark is joined by Gary Catto (Head of Merchanting at Scotgrain Agriculture, part of Bairds Malt Ltd) and Robin Barron (General Manager at East of Scotland Farmers). They provide business insights and discuss grain marketplace, how the last 12 months have been, grain quality, supply and demand and what does 2024 look like as a trading environment.   
Episode Timestamps  
00.00 Introduction – background and business operations 
04:26 Increasing demand for malting barley 
05:15 Steps in the supply chain 
06:29 Global whisky sales and investment at malting level 
08:29 Procuring grain and how a cooperative works  
09:52 Grain varieties 
10:33 Current planting situation and growers aommitments 
11:30 Grain storage and movement throughout the year 
15:10 Do end users drive when processing occurs and tonnage targets? 
17:39 Dealing with variable grain quality 
20:42 Expectations for 2024 
23:14 New varieties on the horizon 
26:33 Supply chain – priorities for the next 24 months 
30:29 Lower carbon barley 
33.01 Next month – Kirsten Williams discusses sheep health and welfare 
FAS Resources 
https://www.fas.scot/crops-soils/  
www.fas.scot/problem-solver/all-arable/  
https://www.fas.scot/article/agribusiness-news-april-2023-cereals-and-oilseeds/ 
Other Resources  
www.scotgrain.co.uk  
www.bairds-malt.co.uk  
www.eosf.co.uk  

https://feeds.captivate.fm/fas-in-conversation-with/

For more information, visit www.FAS.scot 
Twitter: @FASScot 
Facebook: @FASScot 
National Advice Hub 
Phone: 0300 323 0161 
Email: advice@fas.scot 

Credits:
Hosted by Mark Bowsher-Gibbs  
Guests; Gary Catto (Bairds Malt) & Robin Barron (East of Scotland Farmers) 
Produced by Heather Stuart 
Edited by Cameron Waugh 
Executive Producer Kerry Hammond  

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, Robert Ramsay and Tiffany Stephenson who discuss the recent bout of wet weather, and the implications of this on our agricultural businesses. We also talk about beef enterprise efficiencies. I’m later joined by Sascha Grierson, Principal Consultant at SAC Consulting and Project Lead for the Scottish Farm Business Survey, commissioned by the Scottish Government. Sascha tells us the latest findings from the Scottish & Farm Business Survey, and provides some figures for industry performance. 
If you want to sign up for the farm business survey please email Sascha.grierson@sac.co.uk 
FAS Resources 
Stock Talk - Performance in Beef Herds | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) 
CropCast - Spring Fertiliser Applications | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) 
Whole Farm Benchmarks Tool 2022-23 | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) 
Other Resources  
Agricultural Reform Route Map (ruralpayments.org) 
Supporting documents - Scottish farm business income: annual estimates 2022-2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) 
 
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot 
Twitter: @FASScot 
Facebook: @FASScot 
 
National Advice Hub 
Phone: 0300 323 0161 
Email: advice@fas.scot

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 straw & muck and Scottish sheep meat. We will also be bringing you news on why you should invest in your vet and future proofing your retirement. 
Show Notes  
00.45:- News in Brief 
02.43:- Policy Briefs - Spring Budget, New Bills, Farm Business Survey results 2022/23 
07.00:- Arable- Will crops be keeping us cozy in the future? 
14.17:- Wet weather tempering demand for grazing store cattle  
16.16:- Sheep - Global events bolstering UK lamb price. 
19.22:- Sector Focus – Straw & muck star players in an increasingly cyclical economy. 
22.22 :-Milk - Volumes rising but demand remains sluggish. 
27.11:- Sector focus – Scottish sheep meat – simply Baa-rilliant ! 
32.29:- Inputs - Why you should invest in your vet 
38.21:- Management Matters - Future Proofing your Retirement 
FAS Resources 
Agribusiness News April 2024 | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Other Links: 
Land Maintenance Form 
Rural Payments and Services website 
The new Land Reform (Scotland) Bill 
Scottish Farm Business Survey 
New Agricultural Wages Order 
Bioenergy 12 week consultation period 
Tolerable and Repairing Standards 
Energy Performance Certificate 
Jennifer Galloway on Jennifer.galloway@sac.co.uk and Tel 01776 702649 
 
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot 
Twitter: @FASScot 
Facebook: @FASScot 
 
National Advice Hub 
Phone: 0300 323 0161 
Email: advice@fas.scot 

THRILL OF THE HILL | An iconic Scottish species and of high conservation interest, the mountain hare has a lot going for it. Years of hard work to create the managed uplands we know have also contributed to the betterment of the species and a combination of predator control and careful heather management means that it has found a home in our hill expanses. In this episode of the podcast we are joined by Robert Raynor from NatureScot and Scott Newey from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust for a discussion on the species, its place in the uplands, conservation initiatives and the outlook for the uplands in general.
Related Resources
Protected species: hares | NatureScot
Mountain hares - Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (gwct.org.uk)

In this podcast we hear from SRUC Veterinary Investigation Officers Megan Fergusson and Tim Geraghty. They talk about the importance of good husbandry and top tips to save time and to prevent disease spreading at lambing and calving time. They also talk about health planning and how recording lamb and calf losses can help when reviewing these losses and how to improve survival rates in the future.
Linked FAS resources:
Lambing | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Calving Heifers Vlog Series | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Losses at Calving – should I investigate? | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)
Maximising Calf Survival | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is an approach that ensures habitats for wildlife are left in a
measurably better state than they were before development. In England, BNG is mandatory;
developers must demonstrate and deliver an increase in biodiversity following
their development of 10%.
In the last episode of this series, we hear from ecological consultant and future host of
this podcast, Harry Fisher. We discuss his experience of BNG and how it works,
including biodiversity metrics, valuing nature, opportunities for Scotland and what
he is looking forward to as the future host of Natural Capital.
If you have an idea for future episodes, or want to provide feedback on the series, we would
love to hear from you. Visit: https://www.fas.scot/sounds-comments-and-suggestions/
Host Rachel Smillie, Producer Iain Boyd, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, Editor Ross
Mackenzie.

Related FAS resources:  
FAS Biodiversity: https://www.fas.scot/environment/biodiversity/
Previous Natural Capital episodes: https://www.fas.scot/sounds/natural-capital/
Emerging biodiversity markets in Scotland, a source of alternative funding:
https://www.fas.scot/article/emerging-biodiversity-markets-in-scotland-a-source-of-alternative-funding/

Other Related Resources:
Understanding biodiversity net gain: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/understanding-biodiversity-net-gain
Defra statutory biodiversity metric tools and guides:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statutory-biodiversity-metric-tools-and-guides
Research into approaches to measuring biodiversity in Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/publications/research-approaches-measuring-biodiversity-scotland/
Timestamps:
Intro to episode and our new host Harry: 0:00 – 5:10
What is BNG and its use: 5:11 – 13:13
Actions to increase biodiversity: 13:14 – 19:12
Impact and use of BNG on farms:  19:13 – 25:10
Defra tool, metrics and valuing nature: 25:11 – 33:43