All about engagement and building resilience at event

'Arable Conversations' are a core element of Arable Scotland, an annual event held at Balruddery Farm, just outside Dundee, on July 4. Panellists for the conversations are well placed to provide some answers on these big topics but also highlight what can be done now to reduce the impacts – if that’s possible.

READ MORE: Arable Scotland returns to Balruddery Farm in Dundee

More specifically, this year’s conversations are on ‘Adapting to the changing climate’, ‘Staying profitable on lower inputs, and ‘The changing policy landscape’, with session chairs, Colleen McCulloch (agroecological food and farming consultant); David Brewster (agricultural consultant); and David Michie (NFUS Scotland), involving the audience and guiding and pushing panellists to provide answers.

Adapting to a changing climate

Adaptation is increasingly important with the impacts of extreme weather conditions already being felt within the arable sector.

Four excellent and knowledgeable panellists will answer questions and share opinions: Kathryn Hamlen (barley breeder with Syngenta); Murray Cooper (organic mixed farmer, Aberdeenshire); Gary Catto (Highland Grain co-op); and Emily Pope (Trinity Farms Global).

Conversation chair, Colleen McCulloch, said: “Farmers are natural innovators and have a central role to play in the industry adapting to change, building resilience, and restoring nature whilst continuing to produce high-quality food.”

In the opening session, the panel will explore ways in which farmers are already adapting their practices and management; and discuss how early adaptation can improve resilience against dynamic changes and help land managers deliver and demonstrate the best practice outcomes most likely to be linked to future support.

Scotland’s 10 warmest years on record have occurred in the last 26 years and 9% wetter from 2010-2019 than between 1961-1990. Temperatures are predicted to increase across all seasons with warmer and drier summers and intense, heavy, rainfall events in both summer and winter.

The question is what does that mean for farmers, what can they do, and are the current crops/varieties suitable?

The sector is already adapting and innovating across multiple scales to improve resilience against challenges such as water scarcity and new disease threats; and will need to continue co-developing practical solutions, tools and approaches in order to produce high quality food in systems which are resilient to shocks and have a low impact on the wider environment.

This is reflected in the Scottish Government’s ambition to deliver 'high quality food production alongside climate mitigation, adaptation and nature restoration' as set out in its Vision for Agriculture.

The panel will also explore the most urgent priorities for research, innovation, collaboration and knowledge exchange. All of which must be joined up to adapt effectively as a sector for both the current and future climates.

Staying profitable on lower inputs

Maximising net returns with fewer inputs has always been an issue and now, potentially more than ever, the second conversation will centre on the opportunities.

Soils are widely believed to be one of the foundations for this. Improved soil health has the potential to develop soils both more resilient and biologically diverse, improving nutrient cycling.

Regenerative agriculture may solve some of these problems, but are there other approaches that can be taken? What is the role of more resilient crops? What varieties are currently available that require less fertiliser and fewer pesticides?

Roddy Mclean of RBS will be on one of the discussion panels

Also, what will happen if specific herbicides are banned, for example glyphosate, and what will this mean for minimum and no tillage systems? The method used for soil cultivation is a potential option within future conditionality payments.

Discussing the issue will be Roddy McLean (agricultural director within RBS), and agricultural consultants, David Brewster, who will chair the discussion, and Julian Bell.

Balancing all this will be Stuart McNicol, a farmer from East Lothian, who will share his thoughts on the topic and highlight potential concerns on what the future might bring in a lower input system.

The changing policy landscape

Brexit is ‘done’. We are out of Europe and a long way from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Political and policy priorities have shifted a lot since the last time agricultural policy changed in Scotland. The Scottish Government has been ‘co-developing’ a future policy with industry, and we are starting to get a glimpse of what this will look like.

Gone are the two ‘pillars’ of CAP. Incoming are four ‘tiers’ of Scottish policy.

For farmers this means keeping direct payments, with more ‘conditions’ on them than current greening. Agri-environment and climate schemes will remain but may look a bit different.

There will also be innovation, collaboration, skills development, supply chain, and co-operation support in the mix, to support businesses to change.

On paper, this looks similar to what we already have. But in practice, where the funding goes, where the priorities are, and how this is all administered, will shift. This will likely make things look a bit different on the ground.

The Scottish Government’s 2022 Vision for Agriculture sees Scotland becoming 'a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture'. Climate and nature are a priority for government. If this gets underway after 2025, should farmers shift their management to address these priorities now, or wait?

READ MORE: A guided tour of the Recommended List cereal varieties

Field plots and stands at the event will offer the opportunity to see the impact that changing management can have, highlighting business benefits, and how farm practice can contribute to the government’s vision.

John Kerr is head of Scottish Government’s agricultural policy division. As a panellist in the final conversation, he is well placed to talk about what this future might look like from a government perspective.

Andrew Moir is an arable farmer, chair of Scottish Quality Crops (SQC), and has been feeding into policy development. He will bring a farm business perspective to the conversation.

Steven Thomson, an agricultural economist and policy researcher from SRUC, has also been feeding into policy development. His knowledge and experience will bring a view of the socio-economic and other impacts this future policy could have.

But the event is not just about conversations – there are a wide range of exhibitors and plots demonstrating the importance of good management (tillage and cover crops), crop variety selection (both new and old!), fertiliser use and efficiency, and integrated pest management.

All of which will help provide information on ways to tackle, in the field, the issues raised and discussed during the Arable Conversations. The event is about engagement and discussion on topics critical for future arable production.