Scotland's Farm Advisory Service Podcast

Predator control for the conservation of ground-nesting birds can sometimes be a controversial issue.  In this podcast,  Senior Conservation Consultant at SAC Consulting, Paul Chapman, discusses the practicalities with NatureScot’s Alastair MacGugan and hears about an alternative approach to predator-prey conflicts in the Cairngorms Connect project, from Kenny Kortland of Forestry and Land Scotlan...

In this podcast the Farm Advisory Service sits down with farm manager and regenerative agriculture enthusiast, Iain Graham. With the need to balance the demands of farming in a more sustainable manner and drive efficiencies across sectors, multi-species grassland offers win win potential. As someone who is only recently new to the benefits of multi-species grassland, Iain discusses the motivations...

Barbara Girvan’s enthusiasm shines through as she describes her recent new enterprise of a pumpkin patch in the Highlands, providing entertainment for school holidays and raising funds for charity. Her family took a bit of persuading, but enjoyed it so much that the enterprise is continuing, and Barbara has been inspired to start growing sunflowers and cut flowers. Barbara explains the mishaps and...

Find out more about nutrient management and cover crops from the Farm Advisory Service website . In this episode George Gauley is joined by David Fuller - Shapcott from Sweethope Farm , near Kelso along with Audrey Litterick from Earth care technical. David uses a low tillage system alongside a winter – spring rotation as a method of improving soil health and organic matter. Over the years David h...

For further detail on soil organic matter & composting please visit the Farm Advisory Service's Kerchesters Farm webpage. In this episode George Gauley is joined by Jim McFarlane from Edrington Estate & Audrey Litterick from Earth care technical. Jim runs a non-livestock, arable system and has been using a min till establishment for the last 20 years. His focus is to preserve soil organic...

Following on from Animal Health is Wealth webinar , James Orr talks to The Woodlands Trust Scotland farmer Janet Pringle and her vet, Rhona Anderson of Forth Valley Vets, about their experience of hands on practical Health Planning. Covering the barriers, challenges that they faced and the benefits that they have seen from undertaking proactive Animal Health Planning. 

Sheep and Grassland Specialist Poppy Frater talks to Richard Briggs of Briggs Shetland Lamb – a company which sells Shetland lamb across the country from London to Lerwick.  We discuss the importance of small-scale abattoirs, the value of coastal lamb to lamb eating quality and consumer health and access to a UK wide market.  Richard remains optimistic about the future of good quality lamb post-CO...

Common Grazing finances can be bewildering – but they don’t have to be!  Listen to Arthur MacDonald explain what committees need to do and tools and resources that are available to help them.  #crofting #commongrazing   Further resources   Common Grazings Discussion Group from the Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) Common Grazings | Crofting Commission (scotland.gov.uk) Crofting Agricultural Grant S...

For more information about Woodland Creation & Management visit the Farm Woodlands section on our website. In this podcast, Forestry Consultant Ben Law discusses woodland maintenance with Eric Boyd, a forestry contractor with over 42 years of experience in planting and maintaining Scotland’s trees.    Topics discussed include:  control of weeds on woodland creation and restock sites maintenanc...

The Winter Agronomy Roadshows in January for this year will be delivered on-line as a combination of technical lectures, podcasts and interactive discussion sessions . In this podcast we're joined David Doodle and Anthony Spate from the Market Intelligence Department at AHDB

The first in our monthly podcasts episodes hosted by Beef Specialist Robert Ramsay of SAC Consulting.  The series will bring together specialists and vets to discuss topical trends and themes on health topics and diseases which are cause for concern at that time and provide technical and management advice on reducing the risk of such diseases.  This month Robert talks to Veterinary Investigation O...

Find out more about the Soil & Nutrient Network on our website. Most farmers understand the importance of applying lime however how many are applying regularly, at the correct rate and the correct type? In this podcast, part of the Lanarkshire Nutrient Network we are joined by Mark Tripney from I-Soils to discuss all things liming.

Listen to our latest podcast interview with Mark Foxwell, a successful crofter based in Sutherland who applied for business development support through FAS to improve his crofting business.    Mark and his wife moved to their croft up in the highlands in 2018 to become more self-sufficient. As part of their crofting business, they manage a smallholding of livestock including cows, sheep, pigs and...

Research and development within Scottish agriculture will be key to a successful green recovery, building an efficient and sustainable rural economy and mitigating against the threats posed by climate change. In this special bonus episode of the Thrill of the Hill series the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) is fortunate to talk to Prof Davy McCracken, Head of the Hill & Mountain Research Centre abo...

Scotland’s land and topography presents challenges for upland farmers across the country, but in many ways, it is also a blessing in disguise. Peatland, while not conventionally productive, provides important habitat and ecosystem services for farmers and the wider general public, retaining water, capturing carbon and providing important niche habitat for national priority species. Sustainable man...

Listen to field manager, Keri Langridge about the new Saving Wildcats project when she chats with agricultural and conservation consultant, Alex Pirie in the sixth episode of our Thrill of The Hill series. Functionally extinct in Scotland, the Scottish wildcat is an important species on several fronts, ecological, historical, and cultural. However, the species has seen decades of persecution which...

The Winter Agronomy Roadshows this year will be delivered on-line as a combination of technical lectures, podcasts and interactive discussion sessions . In this podcast, we talk to Peter Lindsay, a crops specialist from SAC Consulting and Will Hamilton, a farmer from Borders who specialises in combinable crops.

Common Grazings – and crofting counties more broadly – have a crucial and unique role to play in tackling the decline of biodiversity in Scotland. Because of the mosaic of small distinct habitats in close proximity, coupled with expansive rough grazings and heath, many crofts are microcosms of the habitats across Scotland. This in tandem with the typically more extensive, low input management syst...

Deer farming in Scotland and across Britain is a growing sector with huge potential, whether it is wild deer on the uplands or lowland domesticated units. In the face of threats like climate change and biodiversity decline deer offers a resilient alternative to beef and sheep. In this episode of the Thrill of the Hill series the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) talks to Dick Fairplay, John Fletcher and...

The ability to improve your land is crucial at a time when productivity and efficiency are informing future policy and business resilience. The hills and uplands have a reputation for being difficult to improve, and declining agricultural activity means that these areas are reverting back to a less productive natural state. Liming and control of soil pH offers the opportunity to improve the condit...

The Winter Agronomy Roadshows in January for this year will be delivered on-line as a combination of technical lectures, podcasts and interactive discussion sessions . In this podcast, Professor Fiona Burnett of Scotland's Rural College talks research and the practical approaches of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) with Dr Henry Creissen (SRUC) and David Bell, a farmer from East Fife and IPM champ...

This podcast was first recorded in Winter 2020 but still provides usual information from SEPA for wet weather and mitigation planning for slurry based systems . With Stephen Field, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) In this podcast the Farm Advisory Service sits down with unit manager for the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Stephen Field. With changing and more dramatic weat...

In this podcast SAC Principal Consultant Chloe McCulloch talks to Davy McCracken, Head of SRUC’s Hill & Mountain Research Centre, about the challenges and opportunities facing Scottish agricultural policy-development post-Brexit. The discussion focusses on the importance that payments for public goods delivery and maintenance of natural capital are likely to play in the future. Chloe and Davy...

In this podcast Malcolm Macdonald spoke to retired SAC consultant David Younie. David was SAC Consulting’s senior organic consultant and at the forefront of providing advice to farmers who were organic or planning to convert. David talks about how he moved into organics, the work he was involved in and what he sees as some of the most challenging aspects of organic farming systems.

In this podcast Malcolm Macdonald spoke to Sophie Kirk who is the head of business development with soil association accreditation. Sophie talks about how the organic market has fared over the past year, how Covid-19 has affected sales, and what  the outlook  going into 2021 is like.