3 minute read
Conservation Matters
with the value for prime arable now marginally higher than prices being achieved there for the first time since 2006. As a result of some exceptional prices are being paid for productive and best in class arable land.”
Supply has increased from last year across Great Britain, particularly in Scotland which has seen a 75 per cent increase. However it is still below the fiveyear average for between 2016 and 2020. Careston, a 1520 acre estate in Angus being sold in eight lots, has underlined the current strong appetite for quality arable land when launched on the open market. GB Farmland market supply - Source: Savills Research
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15 million bonus despite wrecked grouse season
Downstream spending in remote communities by Scotland’s grouse moors increased this year to over £15m despite the season being decimated by snow.
That is the surprise finding of a survey by Scotland’s 6 regional moorland groups, which also saw jobs on grouse shoots being maintained.
The survey analysed confidential accounts data from 25 respondent estates of varying sizes, from the Monadhliath Mountains to the Southern Uplands.
Despite average losses of nearly £140 000 each due to cancellations, downstream spending actually increased to an average of over £600 000 worth of contracts per holding.
The last time a similar survey was carried out, average spending by each estate generated £515 000 worth of income for downstream businesses (1)
While the loss of income will be a blow to the shoots, the continued investment has been a lifeline for remote communities
By Ross MacLeod, Head of Policy, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Scotland
Auchnerran in Aberdeenshire is not a nature reserve, but we take great pride in being working conservationists. Auchnerran is first and foremost a working sheep farm, operating just as many other farms across Scotland.
It does however mean that finding a way to combat the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss is also very much on our minds. This requires that we farm productively at the same time as looking after the nationally important populations of wading birds on the farm including curlew, lapwing, and oystercatchers.
We are using the results from carbon audits to target fuel reductions, review our use of fertilizer and address greenhouse gas emissions produced by the sheep flock. We also have more work to do in assessing soil health across the whole of the farm, which will be crucial to understanding the complete balance of emissions and carbon sequestration.
Yet this still begs the question as to whether the current drive for efficiency led by the carbon audits is stacking advice and action in favour of productivity. Some audits do now include biodiversity assessments. Yet until there is the same specific measurement of wildlife and habitats as there is for emissions and sequestration, we are concerned that work to support our farmed environment will take second place.
We have therefore undertaken a ‘natural capital’ assessment to understand our key natural assets and the benefit they can produce (such as food and water provisioning, regulation of climate and flooding, recreation, soil formation and biodiversity). We are also aware that NatureScot’s Natural Capital projects team are exploring initiatives that may also help to strike the balance between climate change and biodiversity requirements.
Developing more precise biodiversity measures is essential if we are to find an equilibrium. At Auchnerran we continue in our quest to match productive, efficient farming with healthy habitats and thriving wildlife.
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust can provide farm and shoot biodiversity assessments and advise how to achieve biodiversity net gain. Talk to the GWCT
