With the new government’s first Budget scheduled for October 30, we’re starting to hear some murmurings about hints and theories that may be included in the statement.

But with a huge hole in the public finances a well-known fact, the worry is where will the Labour government decide to draw from to try to plug these seemingly monumental gaps.

What any changes will actually mean for everybody is yet to be fully understood, but the agricultural sector waits with baited breath to see if they will be targeted for cuts.

The Scottish agriculture industry generates a gross output of over £3.3bn annually and directly employs over 67,000 people – making it the mainstay of most rural communities.

Farmers and crofters consistently produce high-quality commodities to fuel the nation and keep the country running, but we all know that this doesn’t historically save us from being the ones to lose out when the government seem to rob Peter to pay Paul.

Lobbyists and industry bodies have been firing on all cylinders to ensure their messages get across in time.

Fuel merchants have been (unsurprisingly) encouraging farmers to place large orders of fuel, but if potential fuel duty rises are included in the Budget, this could prove to have been a wise move.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a likelihood of changes to inheritance tax, and the industry can only hope that Agricultural Property Relief (APR), which provides exemption for farmland, will be kept in place.

The removal of APR would produce limited financial reward through tax and seriously reduce rentable land for farmers.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves certainly has an unenviable task, but as an industry, we can only hope than an element of common sense prevails…

In other news, bluetongue is the problem that doesn’t seem to be going away, and with bluetongue zones in place across much of the east of England, livestock farmers face a new conundrum as some abattoirs in the Midlands have imposed price cuts of up to 50p/kg for lambs from within the zone.

More worryingly, however, is the fact a new bluetongue strain has been detected in the Netherlands which may not be covered by the emergency vaccines currently available in the UK.

So far, Scotland hasn’t been directly impacted, with no cases reported or restriction zones in place north of the Border, but we all know from experience not to take these things for granted, and it’s a situation that needs to be kept on top of.

This weekend sees the clocks changing, not that livestock tend to take note of these things, but don’t forget to change your watch, and enjoy the slightly lighter mornings that next week will bring!