Soil is a perennial topic, something that needs to be discussed on a recurring basis, and last time we did so was with Dr Bill Crooks some years ago now.

In this episode, we hear from agricultural consultant and soil management enthusiast Lorna Galloway and talk all manner of things, from improving the uplands, raising soil pH, integrating clover, managing drainage and highlighting the support available for soil sampling under Preparing for Sustainable Farming.

Soil forms the foundation of just about everything we do in agriculture, we like to think of our society as being at the cutting edge, but this is not a new idea. “To be a successful farmer one must first know the nature of the soil” – Xenophon, 400 B.C. More recently, Leonardo Di Vinci is attributed as saying “We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot”.

Want to get in touch with Lorna? She can be contacted at SAC Consulting Stranraer on

01776 702 649 or via email at Lorna.Galloway@sac.co.uk.

FAS Related Materials

https://www.fas.scot/publication/podcast-the-thrill-of-the-hill-lime-soil-health/

https://www.fas.scot/publication/technical-note-tn656-soils-information-texture-liming/

https://www.fas.scot/downloads/valuing-soils-practical-guidance-scottish-farmers/

https://www.fas.scot/downloads/practical-guide-soil-sampling-i-take-soil-sample/

https://www.fas.scot/downloads/farming-better-climate-practical-guide-field-drainage/

https://www.fas.scot/downloads/practical-guide-understanding-soil-carbon/

THRILL OF THE HILL | A Damming Conclusion: Part II with Davy McCracken

Thrill of the Hill returns for season 5, with an exciting line-up on new and returning guest speakers and specialists in their fields and on their hills.

Beavers and their presence in Scotland continues to divide the agricultural community, for some they generate hope for a more nature-rich Scotland and more dynamic landscape, for others they cause damage and threaten the viability of various farm enterprises. Last year we heard a passionate take on the issue from Euan Walker-Munro who articulated the frustration felt by many in the industry. In this episode we hear from Professor Davy McCracken and cover the positives around beaver reintroduction, the ecology of the species and the opportunities brought by them. We also discuss what to do if the challenges caused by beavers are too much, what his experience was with getting a license and the need for collaboration and knowledge transfer on the issues faced.

Want to get in touch with Davy, he can be contacted at SRUC on 01292 525 299 or via email at Davy.McCracken@sruc.ac.uk. Those with questions for NatureScot can make contact via beaver@nature.scot.

Related FAS Resources

https://www.fas.scot/publication/thrill-of-the-hill-a-damming-conclusion/

https://www.fas.scot/publication/beavers-translocation-ecology-and-mitigation/

https://www.fas.scot/publication/living-alongside-beavers/

https://www.fas.scot/publication/accommodating-beaver-impacts-on-a-farm/

https://www.fas.scot/publication/mitigating-beavers-impacts-on-a-farm/

Related External Resources

https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/protected-areas-and-species/protected-species/protected-species-z-guide/beaver/beaver-mitigation-scheme

THRILL OF THE HILL | Farm Business Survey: Part II with Sascha Grierson

Thrill of the Hill returns for season 5, with an exciting line-up on new and returning guest speakers and specialists in their fields and on their hills.

With change on the horizon, being on sure footing can be the difference between having a successful business and not. The Farm Business Survey is Scotland's way of establishing the state of our farming communities, benchmarking business performance and generating the data that drives decision-making at the policy level. It is a free service, not costing anything other than time and provides a participant with a set of management accounts, providing valuable insights into your business, it can also be a useful way of collecting the data for those increasingly important carbon audits! It's a win, win, win for those serious about data and keen to progress their business in an informed, measured way.

For those interested in participating in the survey, or if you have any questions for Sascha and the team, you can get them on 07557 661316 or alternatively you can email scottishfarmbusinesssurvey@sac.co.uk.

Related FAS Resources

Thrill of the Hill - The Farm Business Survey | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Whole farm benchmarks | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

THRILL OF THE HILL | An iconic Scottish species and of high conservation interest, the mountain hare has a lot going for it. Years of hard work to create the managed uplands we know have also contributed to the betterment of the species and a combination of predator control and careful heather management means that it has found a home in our hill expanses. In this episode of the podcast we are joined by Robert Raynor from NatureScot and Scott Newey from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust for a discussion on the species, its place in the uplands, conservation initiatives and the outlook for the uplands in general.

Related Resources

Protected species: hares | NatureScot

Mountain hares - Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (gwct.org.uk)

THRILL OF THE HILL | Fire can be an effective management tool in the Scottish uplands, and if controlled and utilised responsibly, can be helpful in rejuvenating our upland heaths. However, fire can also be devastating for many rural businesses and with a number of factors at play, including, climate change, water scarcity, public access and total accidents, wildfires can and do happen, with ever greater intensity. In this episode of the podcast we are joined by Bruce Farquharson from Scottish Fire and Rescue and discuss prevention of wildfires, the role of muirburning and the benefits of having a fire action plan should the worst happen!

Related FAS Materials

Preventing Wildfires on Agricultural Land | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

THRILL OF THE HILL | In a year two weather extremes the water environment has shot up the agenda for many, drought conditions put a lot of pressure on farmers and nature in the summer and heavy rains push many farmers and riverbanks to breaking point this autumn. While Scotland's rivers generally end up at the sea, they start in the uplands and catchment management with appropriate sensitivity to watercourses and riparian habitats can have huge impacts downstream and across the landscape. With recent developments, it makes sense to bring back some former contributors for a broad discussion on the challenging circumstances some species find themselves and reasons to be optimistic.

In this episode we welcome back Struan Candlish, two years since the Ayrshire Rivers Trust were on the podcast. We discuss the plight of species like Atlantic salmon, get an update on the Wellwood Project and other nature restoration work in Ayrshire.

Hosted by Alexander Pirie, Edited by Malcom MacDonald, Produced by Beth Errington, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with The Scottish Government.

Related FAS Resources

Thrill of The Hill - Spawning Success | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Protecting Atlantic Salmon | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Water Margins | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

Other Resources

Ayrshire Rivers Trust | working to improve and preserve our rivers

THRILL OF THE HILL | Carbon and benchmarking carbon are here to stay, firmly embedded in the best practice for the farming community. With COP28 happening now, the need to decarbonise farming has never been clearer but how to do that in a sustainable manner remains a big question for many. Carbon calculators are designed to identify carbon emissions in a business, where they are happening, to provide insights for positive actions. Agrecalc has been one of Scotland's leading calculators and has seen widescale uptake since the days of the Beef Efficiency Scheme, but as the carbon story becomes more important, the ability to get reliable, detailed information on a farm's carbon footprint has never been more important and crucially, having confidence in the data to take steps to improve is hugely important. So regardless of which carbon calculator you are using, the time to count carbon is now.

In this episode, Scott Davies, CEO of Agrecalc discusses the uptake of carbon auditing, the need for a scientific consensus of emissions and how they are calculated, the move to the cloud and the increased functionality that will allow, better, more accurate interpretation of farm results and a clearer pathway forward.

Hosted by Alexander Pirie, Edited by Malcolm MacDonald, Produced by Beth Errington, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with The Scottish Government.

Related FAS Resources

https://www.fas.scot/publication/thrill-of-the-hill-9-digging-deep-on-soil-carbon/

https://www.fas.scot/article/fundamentals-of-soil-carbon/

https://www.fas.scot/carbon-audits/

THRILL OF THE HILL | For years now Scotland has sought to address climate change and habitat fragmentation with increased rates of tree planting, but often the end product, timber, is overlooked. Woodlands cover almost 19% of the landscape in Scotland and while not all of them are part of a productive timber rotation a significant chunk is. Timber production enriches our economy from the local to the national level, promotes employment and produces a sustainable, renewable end product. But timber processing can be detached for farming and a broader understanding of what goes on, when it does and how farmers can engage with the process can present opportunities for benefits on all sides.

Hosted by Alexander Pirie, Edited by Malcom MacDonald, Produced by Beth Errington, Executive Producer Kerry Hammond, in association with The Scottish Government.

Related Resources

Technical Note (TN695): Pruning to Improve Timber Quality

Thrill of the Hill - Talking Timber | Information helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)