By a Newsnet reporter
The never ending deluge of rain across many southern and eastern parts is taking its toll on Scotland’s farmers and the wider countryside.
Many outdoor events have fallen foul of the persistent rain, including the high-profile Scottish Game Fair at Scone Palace, Perthshire which only managed to run for one day of its scheduled three.
By a Newsnet reporter
The never ending deluge of rain across many southern and eastern parts is taking its toll on Scotland’s farmers and the wider countryside.
Many outdoor events have fallen foul of the persistent rain, including the high-profile Scottish Game Fair at Scone Palace, Perthshire which only managed to run for one day of its scheduled three.
In the Lothians, first Haddington Agricultural Show, which was supposed to be held on Saturday past, and now this Saturday’s (14th July) prestigious Dalkeith Agricultural Show have been cancelled.
In a statement, John-Henry Orr, Chairman of the 207 year old Dalkeith Agricultural Society, said that the decision to cancel the show had taken “a lot of soul searching” by the organisers.
Scotland’s traditional countryside events calendar has not been subject to such widespread cancellations since the dreadful year of foot and mouth in 2001.
Whilst there is widespread disappointment in rural communities when events and shows are cancelled, of more serious concern are the effects that the constant rain is having on livestock and crops.
Newsnet spoke to Ross Montague who runs sheep on a farm in Lauderdale:
“On the sheep front, many farmers and shepherds are seriously concerned about welfare. I reckon round here less than half of the sheep have been clipped, a job that is usually finished by now.” said Ross.
“If sheep, yowes in particular, are left with heavy damp fleeces on this can leave them prone to infestations of maggots or ‘cowping’. A sheep with a fleece on a muggy day will inevitably get itchy, they then roll to scratch their backs and often can get stuck on their backs.
“We call these yowes ‘cowped’ and it can be a fatal issue as, unless the shepherd is vigilant and puts the sheep back on to its feet soon, a build up of intestinal gases can kill the sheep. Not being able to clip sheep is a major welfare concern.”
“On the cropping front we have neighbours worried that barley grains won’t fill through lack of sunshine, and the quality of grass, as yet unharvested for silage or hay, is deteriorating daily. Inevitably this will mean more high cost feed stuffs having to be bought in to feed stock in the winter.”
David Keiley a Dumfries based consultant with the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) has advised farming clients that poor quality, low dry matter, grass and silage fed to dairy cows will not provide enough nutrients for milk production. Buying in feed to make up the nutrient shortfall could cost farmers around 8-9p per litre of milk produced David Keiley estimates.
In a week when Scottish dairy farmers have had little comfort from the UK Government following their protest in Westminster calling for an ombudsman to stop processors from slashing farmgate milk prices – German owned Wiseman dairies have announced a further 1.5-2p per litre cut equating to around £50,000 in a year for the average Wiseman milk supplier – the prospect of higher winter feed bills will be most unwelcome.
It is not only farmers and their crops and livestock that look set to suffer the consequences of the wet weather. With crop yields and quality threatened, fears have been voiced that food prices in the shops and supermarkets will rise.
Potato crops, which can be devastated by outbreaks of potato blight, are particularly at risk as the wet weather means that ant-blight crop sprays cannot be applied. In the past few weeks the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), have issued more than 20 blight alerts to potato farmers, this is more than were issued in whole of 2011.
Meanwhile SNP Westminster Agriculture spokesperson Eilidh Whiteford MP has called the UK Government to provide greater support for dairy farmers who she says face crisis in light of cuts to the cost of milk. Speaking after meeting dairy farmers from across the UK at the Westminster protest, Dr Whiteford said:
“The milk supply chain is not operating fairly and the UK Government must act to increase pressure on the major retailers and processors to provide producers with a return that properly rewards their commitment and reflects the cost of production.
“Scotland’s dairy farmers produce a high quality product for which they deserve a fair price. The cut of two pence per litre of milk due to be introduced in August will leave farmers at a loss, paying more to produce than sell. This is wholly unsustainable and threatens the future viability of the sector.”
Ms Whiteford’s calls for action at UK level coincided with the unveiling of a five-point action plan to tackle pricing issues affecting the dairy industry by Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead.
Mr Lochhead also told a meeting with representatives of NFU Scotland that he has called for a summit with his UK and Welsh colleagues which would take place in advance of the Royal Welsh Show.
The five-point plan includes:
* Calling for a ministerial summit to discuss the current situation and establish a timetable for consulting on legislation
* Asking Defra Minister Jim Paice to appoint an independent objective facilitator to assist with the current negotiations between producers and processors in an effort to agree a voluntary code of practice
* Writing to retailers demanding clarity for consumers about how much producers receive for their milk
* Commissioning a long-term strategic review to establish where the dairy industry wants to be in 10 years and how to get there
* Ensuring the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS) have sufficient resources to accelerate their existing work on producer organisations and co-operatives
Speaking this evening, Mr Lochhead said:
“This afternoon’s meeting with the NFUS was constructive but only served to further highlight the need for urgent action to tackle the issue of dairy prices. I was left in no doubt about the anger and frustration our dairy farmers are feeling and I can understand why they feel so aggrieved.
“I’ve been working hard to find a solution that better meets the needs of our dairy farmers and today’s meeting with the NFUS was part of that. We must find a way to maximise the potential of this sector while also ensuring farmers are paid a fair price for a valuable product.
“I am clear that every part of the supply chain has a part to play in finding a solution to the current problem, including retailers and supermarkets.
“We all drink milk and we need the dairy industry to continue and we must not risk letting it crumble. I know that consumers are right behind the milk industry.”