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Pianist Michael Biggins has been named BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician for 2021.
The 23-year-old, from Glasgow, took the prize ahead of five other finalists at a socially-distanced event at the BBC s Pacific Quay HQ.
The judges said they were enthralled by his stage presence and breath-taking performance .
Past winners of the competition include piper Ali Levack, fiddler Benedict Morris and singer Hannah Rarity.
Michael s prize includes a recording session with BBC Scotland and he will also perform at the Scots Trad Music Awards to be held in December.
He said: The other finalists and I were delighted that the competition could go ahead this year because so many other events have had to be cancelled.
Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue. \Philip Doyle
The consultation process for the highly anticipated REPS 2 is to begin on Friday 29 January, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has said.
The confirmation came during a question and answer session at the IFA annual general meeting online on Thursday.
Minister McConalogue said: “The IFA s contribution will be really important. We want to ensure that the scheme is as practical as possible and delivers on its outcomes.
“It’s really important that we deliver incomes for farmers as well.”
Not just bogs
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Martin Heydon reassured that farmers across the country will benefit from the scheme, with funds not exclusive to the midlands.
January 14, 2021 2:09 pm
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed that funding has been allocated for the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) for all of 2021 and not just for the next tranche which begins on Saturday, January 16.
The scheme provides grants for on-farm capital investment and the current tranche comes to an end tomorrow, Friday, January 15.
Tranche 21 of the scheme will open on Saturday, January 16, and close on April 16, 2021; however, funding has been allocated for the rest of 2021 for the scheme, the department has confirmed to
AgriLand.
Clarity on tranches
The confirmation of funding will come as welcome news to farmers, who want to know if they can proceed with investment plans in 2021.
The IFA has met with Bord na Móna to raise concerns around a rewetting programme which will see 200,000ha of bog restored over the next five years.
The delegation which was led by association president Tim Cullinan, highlighted the potential impact of the programme on neighbouring farmland with Bord na Móna chief executive Tom Donnellan and his team.
Cullinan said: “There is a genuine concern about how the programme will affect local farmers. Bord na Móna assured IFA that there would be no risk to neighbouring lands.
“It was agreed that we would collectively establish a working group to ensure constant dialogue on these and other projects as they are rolled out.”