Episodios

  • FFIS, CAGS, WFP and Greening for Crofting
    Jun 27 2025

    The Future Farming Investment Scheme (FFIS) grant scheme is a new scheme in 2025, allowing crofters and farmers to invest to improve business efficiency, nature and climate friendly farming. The FFIS offers flexible capital grants to support investments with tiered levels of funding available. There are other changes affecting crofters, such as a simplified Crofting Agricultural Grants Scheme, which offers grants towards infrastructure; and changes to Greening rules which will affect crofters with more than 15ha of arable land. The Preparing for Sustainable Farming scheme is available this year, for the last time, and can help with the Carbon audit and Soil elements of the Whole Farm Plan. For 2026, the Whole Farm Plan requirements are for 2 elements out of the five choices: Carbon Audit, Animal Health Plan, Biodiversity audit, Soil Analysis and Integrated Pest Management.

    This episode covers many schemes! For background, have a listen to the previous podcasts on Subsidy and Support Changes for Crofting, and Subsidy Future and Current Schemes, to find out more about the structure of support for the agricultural sector.

    Related FAS Resources

    Preparing For The Future | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service

    Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme (CAGS) | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service

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    38 m
  • Changes to Improve Welfare of Lambs
    May 28 2025

    A game changer for sheep on hill grazings?

    It’s very tricky to castrate and tail lambs within 7 days unless lambs are born inbye. Could two new techniques, that allow castration and tailing up to 3 months of age, not only reduce pain levels in lambs, but allow better and easier management on commons and hills?

    The all-important intake of colostrum and bonding of ewe and lamb can be disrupted by tailing and castrating. Changing timings, so that one or other is carried out when the lamb is older, perhaps alongside other treatments such as vaccination or worming, reduces mismothering, and could be more efficient.

    The Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) report on tail docking and castration of lambs (2022) recommends that effective anaesthesia and analgesia should be used routinely for castration and tail docking of lambs, when the methods used are likely to cause significant pain. In recent years new equipment that can reduce the pain associated with tailing and castrating have been developed. Numnuts and Clipfitter are now more widely available and have been shown to have welfare benefits when used for tailing and castrating. In Scotland, the Government has allowed these techniques to be used beyond 7 days of age.

    Here we discuss the two products: techniques, benefits and drawbacks, costs and practicalities for use with lambs and calves.

    Subscribe to hear more about the project when we report on crofter’s experiences of using the products.

    Related Resources:

    Watch our webinar recording where we look at how three farmers are using different methods and approaches to tail docking and castration

    Webinar - Sustainable Sheep Systems - Tail Docking and Castration

    Technical Note (TN679): Castration and Tail Docking of Lambs

    Using clipfitter in practice:

    Using Clips for Castration and Tails

    FAS TV - Tail Docking and Castration in Lambs

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    26 m
  • Matchmaking New and Retiring Crofters (Updated)
    Nov 1 2024

    Many aspire to having and working a croft, however crofts are difficult to obtain, at least in the more productive and scenic areas. At the same time, retiring crofters sometimes find it hard to give up their business, their source of income and home. The Scottish Land Matching Service is designed to help aspiring new producers, whether crofters or farmers, with advice, guidance, and a database of opportunities. Ian Davidson joins us today to discuss the SLMS role in helping crofts to remain in productive use.

    Related Resources

    Scottish Land Matching Service

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    39 m
  • Subsidy and Support Changes for Crofting
    Sep 25 2024

    Support is changing, and although not all details are clear, crofters claiming subsidy need to have specific items and plans in place by next spring. Listen in to hear the essential information you need for next year’s Basic Payment Scheme claim.

    We simplify one aspect of the new system, which is called the Whole Farm Plan. The WFP is actually made up of 5 different parts, of which 2 need to be in place next year, by the 15th May 2025. We discuss the most sensible and easiest routes for crofters to prepare.

    The changes have come about as our subsidy system evolves outwith the EU. The new support system is in four Tiers, with the familiar Basic Payment Scheme in Tier 1. The Whole Farm Plan will affect Tier 1 Basic Payment Scheme. We will cover the other Tiers in future podcasts as more details are released and we understand the impact on crofting, so please subscribe to keep up to date.

    Related FAS Resources

    Preparing For The Future | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

    Crofts & Small Farms resources for farmers from Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

    Crofting Businesses: Carbon Audits and Preparing For Sustainable Farming | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

    Preparing Small Farms and Crofts for 2025 and Beyond - Events

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    40 m
  • Livestock Disease Risks on Crofts
    Aug 28 2024

    Disease risk in livestock, and biosecurity is something we perhaps don’t consider as much in crofting areas as farmers might in more intensive systems. Crofting tends to be more extensive, with lower densities of stock, but we often share bulls, and graze on common ground. In this episode I’m joined by Kythe MacKenzie, who is a vet with SRUC, and Kate Lamont, who is a researcher, to discuss the practicalities of managing disease risk.

    Linked FAS Resources

    Crofting Discussion Groups | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

    Succession Planning – Crofting | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

    Crofting Legislation | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

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    48 m
  • Routes to Crofting
    Jul 31 2024

    This episode hears from 2 crofters with two different routes into crofting. In this episode we discuss how they gained their croft, what they found were barriers, and hints and tips for aspiring or new crofters. I’m delighted to be joined by Derek Dick, who is a relatively new crofter in Berneray, and Angus Ferguson, who is an experienced crofter in North Uist.

    Linked FAS resources:

    Crofting Discussion Groups | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

    Succession Planning – Crofting | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

    Crofting Legislation | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)


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    41 m
  • Lessons from Ireland
    Jun 28 2024

    In this episode we look at what we can learn from the Irish system, where farms are similar to our crofts. A group of crofters are just home from a study tour to Ireland, and we hear from Derek Jamieson who crofts in Unst, Shetland, what he took from this exchange of knowledge. We also hear from Keith Fahy, advisor with Teagasc, explaining the Irish subsidy system and improvements being made to their national flock and herd.

    Ireland Study Tour with Crofters

    Crofting in Unst

    Typical Irish farms

    Croft tenancies

    Mart provision in Ireland and Scotland

    Subsidies in Ireland

    Agri-environment Schemes

    The Irish Green Cert

    Discussion Groups for Crofters

    Linked FAS resources:

    https://www.fas.scot/rural-business/crofts-small-farms/crofting-discussion-groups/

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    40 m
  • Crofting Commission Chief Executive
    May 31 2024

    Gary Campbell is our guest this week. Gary is the new Chief Executive of the Crofting Commission, having just started his role in January this year. With a background working in both the public and private sectors he talks us through his previous roles, his own family crofting story, what he is planning to achieve in his new CE role and his vision for the Crofting Commission.

    Related FAS Resources:

    Crofting & Smallholders Guide to Organisations

    Succession Planning – Crofting | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

    Crofting Legislation | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)


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    41 m