Crofting

A consultation on new legislation on the sale and use of fireworks and tackling the misuse of pyrotechnics has been published.

The proposed Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Bill follows the report of an independent Fireworks Review Group which recommended tightening legislation to reduce the harm fireworks can cause.

Scotland’s farms and crofts urged to take part in important survey.

The size and scale of Scotland’s agritourism sector is to be measured for first time in a new annual census of farms, crofts and estates across the country.

Crops in every field farmed in Scotland have been recorded by satellite imagery to create a new interactive map to help to breakdown agricultural land use.

The Scottish Crop Map uses data from 2019 to predict the crop types using radar images from the European Space Agency (ESA) Copernicus Satellite Programme and to recognise the crops growing in nearly 400,000 fields in Scotland.

Lantra is seeking volunteers to help to review National Occupational Standards (NOS).

National Occupational Standards help people to gain the right skills and knowledge to work in specific industries, so have to be reviewed regularly to make sure they stay relevant.

RSABI, the charity supporting people in Scottish agriculture, has been left a very generous legacy by a Marykirk farmer.

The estate, valued at approximately £3m, has been gifted to the charity by Sheila Erskine with the wish to help the farming community, in recognition that donating to RSABI was a good way to do this.