Episodes
Welcome back to the Rural Round-up. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode, we’re joined by Sascha Grierson, Principal Consultant & Agri-Economics lead at SAC Consulting and Andrew Coalter Senior Consultant & Chartered Accountant at SAC Consulting who discuss the implications of the Autumn Budget for the Agricultural Industry and dive into detail on the inheritance tax update, and why you should start thinking about Succession, sooner...
Published 11/20/24
Published 11/20/24
Welcome back to the Rural Round-up. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode, Farm Advisors Tiffany, George and Robert give us the latest agricultural updates from around Scotland, and are then joined by Professor Steven Thomson, Professor of Agricultural Economics and Policy at SRUC to discuss the latest policy updates, including EFA, Calving Intervals and more.  FAS Resources  Stock Talk | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service...
Published 10/17/24
Welcome back to the Rural Round-up. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode, Farm Advisors Tiffany Stephenson from St Boswells, George Chalmers from Turriff and Robert Ramsay from Ayr, give us the latest agricultural updates from the Borders, N. East and S. West of Scotland, and are later joined by Iain Boyd, a senior Environmental Consultant to talk about Climate Week and what opportunities it brings to Crofters and Farmers in Scotland.   FAS...
Published 09/18/24
Welcome back to the Rural Round-up. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode I’m joined by George Chalmers, Robert Ramsay & Osla Jamwal-Fraser to talk about agritourism, opportunities to diversify and the added value opportunities for Scottish Agriculture.   FAS Resources  Alternative Enterprises | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)   Agri Culture - Cream O Galloway: A Dairy Story | Information helping farmers in...
Published 08/21/24
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 & Tiffany Stephenson to talk about The Whole Farm Plan, and what it means for farmers, crofters & smallholders. FAS Resources  Preparing For The Future | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  The Farm Management Handbook | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service...
Published 07/17/24
Welcome back to the Rural Roundup 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 & Tiffany Stephenson who chat about the census, thinking about silage and the ECS organics deadline, and I’m later joined by Eleanor Kay from Scottish Land & Estates who talks about their theme of resilience this year. We discuss everything from their organisational strategy, right through to how land-owners...
Published 06/21/24
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...
Published 05/22/24
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...
Published 04/17/24
Welcome back to the Rural Round-up hosted by me, Kerry Hammond. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. This episode is part of a spotlight mini-series titled Trees of the Gaelic World. This episode is all about Birch and will explore the Gaelic language and lore surrounding the species with scholar Dr Mìcheal Newton, and advice from Viv Halcrow from The Woodland Trust on the best conditions for the species, and how to manage or establish Birch on our land in the...
Published 03/15/24
Welcome back to the Rural Round-up hosted by me, Kerry Hammond. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. This episode is part of a spotlight mini-series titled Trees of the Gaelic World. This episode is all about Yew and will explore the Gaelic language and lore surrounding the species with scholar Dr Mìcheal Newton, and advice from Iona Hyde from The Woodland Trust on the best conditions for the species, and how to manage or establish Yew on our land in the current...
Published 03/15/24
Welcome back to the Rural Round-up hosted by me, Kerry Hammond. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. This episode is part of a spotlight mini-series titled Trees of the Gaelic World. This episode is all about Scot’s Pine and will explore the Gaelic language and lore surrounding the species with scholar Dr Mìcheal Newton, and advice from Alan Crawford from The Woodland Trust on the best conditions for the species, and how to manage or establish Scot’s Pine on our...
Published 03/15/24
Welcome back to the Rural Round-up hosted by me, Kerry Hammond. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. This episode is part of a spotlight mini-series titled Trees of the Gaelic World. This episode is all about Oak and will explore the Gaelic language and lore surrounding the species with scholar Dr Mìcheal Newton, and advice from Alasdair Firth from The Woodland Trust on the best conditions for the species, and how to manage or establish Oak on our land in the...
Published 03/15/24
Welcome back to the Rural Round-up hosted by me, Kerry Hammond. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. George Chalmers and Tiffany Stephenson discuss, in detail, all the things we need to focus on for Spring, including the Single Application Form (IACS), the Agri-Environment Scheme (AECS), and advice pertinent to calving, lambing, cropping and grass for Spring.   FAS Resources  Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm...
Published 03/13/24
Welcome back to the Rural Round-up hosted by me, Kerry Hammond. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. This episode was recorded on Tuesday 20th Feb 2024 and all information considered correct to this date. On today’s episode Robert, Tiffany and George are joined by Professor Steven Thomson from SRUC’s Rural Policy Centre. They discuss the potential future landscape of funding, common grazings & small holders, policy and pressures around GHG emissions, and...
Published 02/28/24
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 as he fills me in on the headlines from the inaugural FAS Connect Conference. Remember for PSF options completed in 2023, the claim window runs from 1st March 2023 to 29th February 2024.  FAS Resources  FAS Connect | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service FAS Connect Conference | Events helping farmers...
Published 02/14/24
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 Robert, Tiffany and George discuss the impact of the recent wave of bad weather across Scotland. Whether managing flooded soils or staying safe around fallen trees it’s all worth taking a moment to consider best practice and the current advice out there.   FAS Resources  Forestry Information Note: Forestry Update – Felling Permission and...
Published 01/31/24
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 George & Robert think about what Rabbie Burns would have to say about Farming today. They reflect on the similarities, and the massive changes that agriculture has seen since the Poet was working a plough.   We are also joined by Phil Knott a crofter from Skye, the Vice-Chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network and facilitator of two...
Published 01/17/24
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 George, Robert & Tiffany discuss collaboration and partnerships, looking at examples like The Scottish Pig Producers, and investigating how technology could facilitate collaboration. We are also joined by Tara Wight from The Landworker’s Alliance discussing their work in bringing people together, and the benefit of Farmer’s networks.   FAS...
Published 12/20/23
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 George, Robert & Tiffany chat about the run up to Christmas, how the public get interested in farms, farming, and local food at this time of year, and how we could make more of this for the rest of the year.   FAS Resources  Positive PR | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Positive PR Infographic | Information...
Published 12/06/23
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 George & Robert are joined by Lorna Galloway, a senior consultant at SAC Consulting to discuss developments in agricultural technology, opportunities for efficiencies and what tech might look like in the future.   FAS Resources  Thrill of the Hill - Virtually Stockproof | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service...
Published 11/22/23
Welcome back to the Rural Round-up hosted by Kerry Hammond. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today’s episode George & Robert discuss the recent extreme weather events and the opportunities for farmers through PSF (Preparing for Sustainable Farming). We are also joined by Dr Annie Williams to discuss optimum mineral supplementation for cows and sheep.   FAS Resources  Mitigating Extreme Rainfall: October 2023 Flooding | Helping farmers in Scotland |...
Published 11/08/23
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, George & Robert are joined by Professor Steven Thomson from SRUC’s Rural Policy Centre to shine a spotlight on what’s happening currently with rural and agricultural policy.     For more information, visit www.FAS.scot  Twitter: @FASScot  Facebook: @FASScot    National Advice Hub  Phone: 0300 323 0161  Email: [email protected] 
Published 10/25/23
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 George & Tiffany chat about the Scottish Agricultural awards, AECS 2024 and the Nature Restoration Fund.   FAS Resources  Borders Vet Lab Visit | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Farmyard Pollution, Farmer Solution | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)  Other...
Published 10/11/23
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 George & Tiffany bring you some good news about the Basic Payment Scheme, The Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme, and an Organic success story. Tiffany Stephenson also tells us about another podcast she hosts, called CropCast, and tells us what we can expect to hear in those episodes.   FAS Resources  Organics Discussion Group from the...
Published 09/27/23