MSP Tim Eagle, himself a farmer, has said that the volume and complexity of paperwork that farmers are expected to complete for the Scottish Government is becoming far too high.

Mr Eagle spoke up after receiving a letter entitled, ‘Agricultural Support is Changing’ which followed the passing of the new Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) bill which ended stage 3 on June 18, 2024.

The bill has a common agricultural policy funding commitment of £691.9 million each year from 24/25. There is an additional cost of £60million for digital changes needed to transition from the current payment system to the new Scottish approach envisioned by the bill.

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He said: “Despite being involved in all stages of the new bill in the Scottish Parliament myself and lobbying hard for a common-sense approach, I did wonder, as I picked the letter up from my doorstep last week, what might be inside.

"One of my big asks in my stage one speech was to limit bureaucracy, to take paperwork away, and allow farmers to farm. I had hoped some notice might have been taken, but no, the great governmental machine was not going to listen to my pleas on behalf of the agricultural community.

“The SNP had a chance to take an innovative approach to meet their aims. There was potential for using farm visits to work with farmers on plans to improve productivity, the environment and biodiversity rather than filling farmers with dread due to the risk of inspections and penalties. But very sadly, they chose not to go down this route.

"Over the last 20 years farmers have gone to great lengths to farm with the environment in mind, encouraging wildlife and protecting landscapes. I was confident that if government, assurance bodies like QMS and SQC, farming groups like NFU, and the crofting commission, charities and farmers themselves came together we could work to continue that move to a sustainable future without the need for more and more paperwork. So, this outcome is incredibly disappointing.

“Active engagement and a shared working together approach would have brought far better environmental outcomes. This approach seems to prioritise the appetite for SNP ministers for endless and often meaningless statistics which are too often used in highly contentious and politically charged ways.

“The net result is farmers drowning in a sea of paperwork with very little benefit to anyone else.”

The letter details changes to cross compliance on Peatland, a push to ensure short calving intervals and a new set of reports required for each farm including carbon audits, biodiversity audit, soil analysis, animal health and welfare plan and integrated pest management plans.

Tim Eagle is a Scottish Conservative MSP representing the Highlands and Islands region. He runs a small sheep farm in Moray and formerly worked as a rural surveyor advising farmers for Scottish Land and Estates.