The famous lyrics to the Proclaimers’ hit ‘Letter from America’ could easily be adjusted to lament the Scottish abattoir sector: Orkney no more, Dunblane no more, Elgin no more, St Andrews no more.

This week, however, the recent sorry tale of slaughterhouse woes has been turned on its head. We have a new facility in the making.

Granted, the Pickstock killing house is only just within the Scottish boundaries, but it is still a step in the right direction to diversify our processing sector. Trying to funnel livestock from thousands of producers through the hands of only a few abattoirs has taken a step back with one more Scottish buyer on the cards.

There is also optimism about the Scotch brand, as building this side of the Border allows the geographic label to be slapped onto meat packs. We might not see much evidence of a Scotch premium on our kill sheets, but building processing capacity is vital if there is any hope of its return.

Something else which people worried was a goner was Lochearnhead Shears. Despite fears only a few months ago that the event would stop, the event was a glorious success with crowds flocking to witness the elite compete.

The sheep world is the exciting pulse of the countryside, perfectly demonstrated in the clipping world. We just need the wool price to lift and make the exercise pay.

At the other end of the scale from sheep shearing, where humans are vital, tractor giant AGCO is planning to roll out self-drive kits to fit onto tractors built after 2014. Only a few years ago, this notion would have been considered pure science fiction, but the breakneck speed of technology makes the seemingly impossible, possible week after week.

Just as GPS has fine-tuned tractor work in so many of Scotland’s fields, self-driving machines could play a part too. But global tractor giants must remember, we are not the prairies of America, our parks are full of little quirks which keep us on our toes behind the wheel. Rocky knaps, wet hows, and telegraph poles all need to be accounted for if machines are to replace the operator. Time will tell how the technology is implemented as it moves from the east to the west of the country.

On the topic of advances, only last week I was writing about the need for carbon calculators to collaborate so farmers can have faith in the methodology. Just a few days later, our wishes were fulfilled, and I promise, for once, The SF team did not have any insider knowledge.

A carbon emission war is looming in our food sector, and we must have trusted figures to back our credentials if we are to prevent imports from shoving us off the shelves. How can we accept environmental credentials from countries such as Australia when they have been 4m short on their cattle count? Yes, 4m cattle, which is many times more than all the cattle in Scotland.

How they calculate the emissions impact of their industry when the simple number of cattle on the ground is off by millions beggars belief. Any attempt to convince our consumers their meat is better for the planet must be rigorously investigated, as clearly, they struggle to count.