Along with our regular monthly updates on policy, cereals, beef, sheep and milk, in this edition we also have a spotlight on dairy technology.

Show Notes

00:39 News in Brief

05:49 Policy Briefs – Future Farming Investment Scheme, Agri-environment Climate Scheme Update, June Agricultural Census 2025 Results, Rodenticides, Muirburn Licence Update, Ecological Focus Areas, Suckler Beef Support Scheme, Small Scale Woodlands, Key Dates.

16:58 Cereals – latest arable news and market update

25:23 Beef – Festive Demand, Consumer Demand, Price Rewards, Store Trade, Cull Cow Trade, Breeding Cattle.

34:02 Sheep – October Trade Round-Up, European and UK Lamb, Global Prices.

38:58 Milk – Milk Production Data, Farm-gate Prices, Dairy Commodities and Market Indicators, How Clean Is Your Water  

46:03 Sector focus – Dairy Technology – Where can it benefit your business?

55:31 Further articles – Tech Savvy Dairy Farming, Slatted flooring for sheep, Greening changes, Arable Farm Finances, Upcoming deadlines, Herd Advance Stockman system, Making Succession a Success

Links and Resources:

Newsletters - Business & Policy Edition - Farm Advisory Service

BASIS PROMPT

BPCA 2(British Pest Control Association) Registered

CRRU Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use) - Think Wildlife

Lantra Awards Level 2 Award in Rodent Management - Lantra

The Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill

Delayed implementation of the muirburn provisions | Scottish Parliament Website

The Rural Support (Improvement) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) (No. 2) Regulations 2025

Small woodlands | Scottish Forestry

Pneumonitor - environment monitoring for your pen

Farm-twin - Digital Dairy Chain

SRUC Major projects | Digital Dairy Chain

Precision solutions to animal health & welfare: Dairy Calf

Welcome to Stock Talk hosted by Kirsten Williams. On today’s episode, Kirsten is joined by Ross Robertson, a Farm Technology Specialist at the UK Agri-Tech Centre. Ross collaborates with a network of farms to create practical solutions and demonstrate use of technology on farm to increase productivity. Ross draws on his practical farming experience and knowledge gained through visiting systems in other countries to bring about innovative change at a farm level here in the UK.

Episode Timestamps

00.20 Introducing Ross Robertson, Farm Technology specialist and sheep farmer

04.34 Sector technology: dairy, arable robotics and precision farming, pig and chicken technology and animal health

09.00 Return on investment

10.36 Understanding how to handle and understand the data – the importance of training

13.32 Applying dairy technology to the beef sector

15.41 Main driver for introducing technology: labour, cost saving, health monitoring, increasing productivity

19.11 Ross’s background

24.28 Biodiversity sensors

27.42 LoRaWAN – Long Range Wide Area Network

30.15 Connectivity - a barrier to the uptake of technology?

32.01 ONE AgriTech survey – broadband, apps and expert help

43.30 What motivates Ross

Resources

The UK Agri-Tech Centre | farming & food innovation

Ross Robertson contact: 07858309293, ross.robertson@ukagritechcentre.com

Opportunity North East (ONE)

The University of Edinburgh - The Power of Data in Farm Animal Practice

For more information, visit www.FAS.scot

Facebook: @FASScot

National Advice Hub

Phone: 0300 323 0161

Email: advice@fas.scot

Insurance for Crofters and Common Grazings. Welcome back to Crofting Matters! In this episode, Siobhan is joined by Jonathan Hogg, a rural insurance expert from NFU Mutual’s Dingwall branch. Johnny has an agricultural background, works in a crofting area and understands the issues that crofters and grazing committees face with access, theft and weather-related incidents. We remove the ambiguity surrounding the need for Public and Employer’s liability cover, and what to do if the bull can outrun humans.

We discuss:

• Whether a small crofting business needs insurance, and what kind?
• The need for Public Liability insurance.
• Livestock – minimising the risk.
• Wording on signs.
• When to cover machinery and livestock for theft and loss.
• Employer’s liability when you may not think of yourself as an employer!
• Common Grazings and Sheep Stock clubs – cover required.

FAS Resources

https://www.fas.scot/news/common-grazings-and-sheep-stock-clubs-liability/

In this episode of Natural Capital, Harry Fisher and Alex Pirie reflect on their time at Scotland’s first Nature Friendly Farming Summit. The summit explored how to scale nature-friendly farming to deliver for people, nature and climate and brought together farmers, policymakers, researchers, and environmental leaders to discuss how Scotland can build a resilient, nature-positive farming future. The summit addressed how nature and profitability are not opposites and showed how the path to a thriving, nature-friendly farming future is already taking shape.

Harry and Alex explore the main themes from the day, from farmers as stewards of the land, how profitability and biodiversity can go hand in hand and set the scene on biodiversity loss, climate pressures, and the need to de-risk nature-based solutions. The episode also looks at the future of funding, how current and new payment systems can reward environmental outcomes and discusses some of the key messages and announcements made on the day.

Host Harry Fisher, Producer Iain Boyd, Editor Kieron Sim, Executive Producers Kerry Hammond & Kirstyn Blackwood

Related FAS resources:

FAS Environment - https://www.fas.scot/environment/

NC LENs episode - https://www.fas.scot/podcast/natural-capital-landscape-enterprise-networks-leven-lens/

NC John and Louise Seed Woodend episode - https://www.fas.scot/podcast/arable/

Thrill of the Hill - https://www.fas.scot/sounds/thrill-of-the-hill/

Other Related Resources:

Nature Friendly Farming Network - https://www.nffn.org.uk/

Minister for Agriculture speech - https://www.gov.scot/publications/minister-for-agriculture-speech-nature-friendly-farming-network-summit/

RSPB article on summit - https://www.rspb.org.uk/scotland/news/nature-friendly-farming-summit-scotland

AECS announcement - https://www.ruralpayments.org/news-events/ministers-have-confirmed-the-2026-round-of-the-agri-environment-climate-scheme--aecs-.html

Alex Pirie - https://www.sruc.ac.uk/all-unearthed-posts/meet-the-consultant-alex-pirie/

Timestamps:

0:56 – 6:10 Intro to summit, nature friendly farming and setting the scene

6:11 – 25:26 Range of different farmers, organisations and messages from speakers and exhibitors

25:27 – 29:10 Policy, government messages and funding announcements

29:10 – 35:04 Landscape scale initiatives and LENs

35:05 – end. Summing up and main takeaways.

Welcome to Cropcast Conversations hosted by Mark Bowsher-Gibbs. On today’s episode Mark is joined by Julian South, Executive Director of The Maltsters’ Association of Great Britain (MAGB). MAGB are the trade association of the UK malting industry and represent over 98% of UK malt production, buying around 2 million tonnes of UK malting barley, to make about 1.6 million tonnes of malt. Mark and Julian discuss harvest 2025, barley varieties, tariffs and trade deals and opportunities for the industry.

Episode Timestamps

01.38 Background and structure of MAGB

04.43 What is malt?

06.59 Distilling malts and brewing malts

07.50 Harvest 2025 round up

16.12 Evaluating and approving new barley varieties for malting

23.31 International Barley Hub

26.00 Biggest challenges for the malting barley industry

29.47 International trade

33.25 Tariffs and trade deals

35.04 Peat as a flavouring for malt

37.10 Finding out more: www.ukmalt.com

38.25 The malt industry in 10 years time

Resources

The Maltsters’ Association of Great Britain

Malting Barley Committee - The Maltsters’ Association of Great Britain

Contact: Julian South: 07967452838, julian@magb.org.uk

SRUC - Soils & plants - Recommended lists

SAC Recommended Lists for Cereals 2025-26

International Barley Hub - The James Hutton Institute

Mycotoxins - The Maltsters’ Association of Great Britain

For more information, visit  www.FAS.scot

Facebook: @FASScot

National Advice Hub

Phone: 0300 323 0161

Email: advice@fas.scot

In this episode George Chalmers is joined by SAC Senior Consultant and Chartered Accountant Andrew Coalter to discuss Arable Farm Finances, particularly cash flow challenges, investment and capital allowances for arable farms.

Welcome to Cropcast, your go to podcast for all the latest information on arable crops. Each month, SAC advisor, George Chalmers will be joined by a range of industry experts, bringing you timely updates to help you make decisions in the field.

Producer George Gauley, Editor Cameron Waugh, Executive Producer Kirstyn Blackwood, in association with the Scottish Government.

Related FAS Resources

Cash Flow Forecasting: https://www.fas.scot/article/building-good-financial-habits-with-cash-flow-forecasting/

Budgeting & Financial Planning https://www.fas.scot/rural-business/business-tools/budgeting-and-financial-planning/

Finance & Funding https://www.fas.scot/whats-stopping-you-finance-funding/

Thrill of the Hill is back for season 6! Armed with a new team, new ideas and a range of new speakers, Alex takes on the hot topics impacting the farmed upland environment.

Bats are a defining—if often unseen—part of Scotland’s working landscapes. From the edges of upland pasture to lowland hedgerows, shelterbelts and farm ponds, these nocturnal insect-eaters weave through dusk and darkness, helping to regulate moths, midges and beetles while signalling the health of our wider environment. Species like the common and soprano pipistrelle, brown long-eared bat and Daubenton’s bat use farms for roosting, commuting and feeding, linking woodlands, water and field margins into living networks. Yet changes in building use, loss of hedgerows, brighter yard lighting and reduced insect abundance can make life harder for these protected mammals and the benefits they bring.

In this episode, ecologist and environmental consultant Harry Fisher from SAC Consulting Ltd walks us through practical, farm-ready actions: keeping and restoring hedgerows as flight corridors; creating or managing ponds and wetlands; planning yard lighting to reduce glare and skyglow; timing roofing and renovation work to protect roosts; and planning activities through the calendar year. We’ll also look at simple additions like bat boxes, how to spot signs of bat activity, where to find advice, and how agri-environment options and local projects can help with costs and guidance.

Want to get in touch with Harry? Contact him via telephone at 01292 525090 for advice on surveys, roost considerations during building works, and habitat improvements suited to your farm.

Related FAS Resources

Bats and Biodiversity | Helping farmers in Scotland

Other Related Resources

Home - Bat Conservation Trust

Welcome back to the Rural Roundup. On today’s episode George Chalmers and Mary-Jane Lawrie discuss the aftermath of storm Amy, speak to Gilmour Lawrie ahead of the much-anticipated AgriScot 2025 and talk about upcoming deadlines including EFA green cover, PSF, SSBSS and SUSS.

FAS Resources

AgriScot 2025: https://agriscot.co.uk/

FAS Events: https://www.fas.scot/events/

Rural Payments, all scheme guidance https://www.ruralpayments.org/topics/all-schemes/

For more information, visit  www.FAS.scot

Twitter: @FASScot

Facebook: @FASScot

National Advice Hub

Phone: 0300 323 0161

Email: advice@fas.scot