A conifer sapling SAC CONSULTING has welcomed new consultant Ben Law into its woodland team. Mr Law brings with him a wealth of knowledge, having worked for forestry contractors, forest management companies and been self-employed. He will be consulting across the Highlands and Islands, Moray and Aberdeenshire, having taken over from Simon Jacyna who retired after 30 years at SRUC. Forestry team leader, Malcolm Young, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Ben on board, allowing us to maintain and grow our presence throughout the north and north-east. Ben brings some fantastic skills and experience with him which complements the team and will be working closely with SAC Consulting’s agricultural advisors to help farmers and crofters get the best out of their land.”
New hub to inspire farmers to help protect soils
8 January 2021 |
The online hub will issue guidance for farmers on how to support healthy soils
A new online community hub has been launched to inspire farmers and land managers to take action to better understand soil and care for it.
Experts hope the hub will inspire policymakers, researchers, farmers and the public to protect the precious but degrading resource .
The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) warns that a third of the world’s soils are degraded due to intensive agriculture, pollution and climate change.
This has resulted in large amounts of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere, threatening long-term sustainable food production.
Agronomy in expert hands at roadshows by Gemma Mackenzie
MUCKING IN: Soil health is one of the topics for discussion at the virtual workshops.
Soil health, crop selection and integrated pest management (IPM) are among the topics up for discussion at a series of virtual workshops starting next week.
The agronomy winter roadshows are hosted by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the Scottish Government’s Farm Advisory Service (FAS).
They will be held online this year, due to Covid-19 restrictions, with events running on each Wednesday from January 13 to February 10.
“We have moved our popular agronomy roadshows online this year so we can still let farmers know about the latest crop research, as well as addressing some of the hot topics affecting their businesses, not just in Scotland but local to their region,” said AHDB’s arable knowledge exchange manager for Scotland, Chris Leslie.
Farmers trial solutions to commonly breached pollution rules
17 December 2020 |
Unchecked livestock access to watercourses can lead to a breach of regulations and financial penalties
Alternative watering systems, including solar-powered water troughs, have been trialled by livestock farmers as a way of complying with diffuse pollution regulation.
Scottish farmers are developing four cost-effective, practical solutions to the most commonly breached diffuse pollution regulation - General Binding Rule 19.
Autumn and early winter are important times for managing diffuse pollution - as rainfall increases and green cover diminishes, the risk of leaching, poaching and erosion rises.
Through the Farming and Water Scotland initiative, SAC Consulting, part of Scotland s Rural College (SRUC), has been working with farmers to develop the solutions.