Scottish Land & Estates

pleased that the hard work of everyone on the estate is being recognised for enhancing and safeguarding biodiversity.” Dee Ward, owner of Rottal Estate, said: “We want Rottal to be managed in an integrated and sustainable way and recognise the decisions we make can lead to different outcomes. We want to see biodiversity on our estate such as black grouse, mountain hares, ring ouzels, curlew, lapwing, golden plover and a host of raptors and we work to accomplish that every day. This can still be pursued whilst running a successful business and our involvement in Wildlife Estates Scotland assists us in achieving that aim.”

WES was developed in Scotland by rural business organisation Scottish Land & Estates and was launched in November 2010. Financial support has been provided by NatureScot (formerly SNH) and the scheme’s Advisory Board and Technical Committee has a broad spectrum of representation from organisations including the Cairngorms National Park Authority, RSPB, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust as well as the Scottish Government.

Scotland currently sits second in the league table of accredited land in Europe, with only Spain ahead on approximately 1.6 million acres. WES aims to double the accredited land to 2.5 million acres by 2023.

Natural capital and rewilding boosts sales of Scottish estates

Auchavan Estate

Rural property consultancy Galbraith says demand for land for natural capital and rewilding is boosting the market for Scottish estates, alongside the desire for shooting, fshing and stalking.

The frm has sold and bought estates valued in excess of £50m over the last two years. The increased variety of motivations for acquiring an upland estate has stimulated the market further which was already benefting from the booming forestry sector. Demand outstrips supply by a considerable margin, as only around 15 estates will change hands in a typical year. Average prices are increasing, alongside signifcant premiums being paid for hill farms and planting land.

Diversity of thought

By Stephen Young, Head of Policy at Scottish Land & Estates

Summer is usually a quieter time in the world of agricultural policy, as politicians enjoy recess and farming is in full swing trying to make the most of some decent weather. However, for the policy geeks among us, this period has seen the publication of two interesting reports: Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy, and the Farming for 1.5 report.

Taking the food strategy first, it includes some interesting points. Having already published part one in July 2020, the final report continued in a similar vein. While the proposed ‘sugar tax’ gained the tabloid headlines, along with concerns this could be just a short leap to a potential red meat tax, looking beyond that is where the real value is. A key message is around education, to try to break the association with junk food and convenience, using any tax income to provide fresh fruit and vegetables for lowincome families.

The report also discusses future rural support, recommending guarantee of budgets for agricultural payments until at least 2029 and although this report is for Westminster, it will have a knock-on effect on Scotland. It also reinforces the importance of high production standards in the UK and the need to offer safeguard these in future trade deals.

The Farming for 1.5 group also reported with some interesting outcomes, considering the myriad of expectations on land use, such as food production, carbon management and aiding biodiversity. It is refreshing to see measures of success moving away from a simple carbon calculation, which oversimplifies issues and underplays the benefits of integrated land management.

The key to all of this is moving away from a situation where agriculture and the environment are somehow seen as exclusive of each other. There are ways of farming which produce food and are beneficial for the environment, however this is hard to do if carbon is the sole measure of success and the benefits of woodland and peatland sequestration are measured against a different target when in reality it is the same people managing the same land which create both.

Best practice and advisory services are also discussed at length and one final interesting point made by this report is the importance of diversity of thought when looking at the future. When talking of the implementation boards for the recent farmer led groups, the report “encourages the government to ensure the membership has diverse expertise and backgrounds.” This seems very important - while practical experience is hugely important, and it is essential that the industry voice is heard, we must not be insular and resistant to outside information and advice. Diversity of thought can be hugely beneficial during change and solutions can come from many corners - circling the wagons and looking inwards seems a flawed idea.