New entrants to agriculture thrive!

Repurposing publicly-owned land for farming will be a key issue considered at a forthcoming summit about attracting new people into agriculture.

Agriculture and Connectivity Minister Jim Fairlie visited Suzanne and Andrew Jardine, who are tenants of the 123 hectare Newfarm on the Applegirth Estate near Moffat, which is managed by Crown Estate Scotland.

The Jardines secured their tenancy in 2019 through Crown Estate Scotland, the public corporation which manages farming tenancies on four rural estates across the country, totalling around 30,000 hectares. The Jardines started their business with just one heifer, limited building capacity, and no dairy facilities, but support from Crown Estate Scotland enabled them to grow their business to its current herd of more than 100 Jerseys.

The Scottish Government set up the Farming Opportunities for New Entrants (FONE) group to consider how to help people secure land to start farm businesses. Chair of the FONE group Henry Graham and Oster Milambo from Crown Estate Scotland joined the Minister and the Jardines.

Mr Fairlie said:

“This is a good example of a positive relationship between new entrant tenants and land managers, resulting in a thriving agricultural business. The First Minister recently pledged to participate in a summit later this year to consider how we attract new people to the industry, including how to remove barriers to that.

“To date our Scottish Land Matching Service has supported 35 joint-ventures and is progressing more than 260 potential opportunities. It takes partnership to explore the possibilities for new farmers and I am grateful to all those working with us, including Crown Estate Scotland and the FONE group, and I look forward to continuing our efforts to support the next generation of farmers.”

Crown Estate Scotland’s  Director of Property, Oster Milambo, said:

“Increasing the diversity of land management and encouraging new entrants to the tenant farms which we manage as opportunities arise is a key priority for Crown Estate Scotland . We give particular consideration to those looking to join the sector and provide practical financial support in the form of capital investment to both aid diversification, such as converting farm buildings for alternative use including by community groups, as well as helping to upgrade vital farm infrastructure. As we continue to work in partnership with FONE, we look forward to helping more new entrants to realise their farming ambitions.”

Andrew Jardine said:

“The main thing that we got from this opportunity from the Crown Estate Scotland was the security to progress and build a business. The big thing for a lot of new entrants would be short-term lets, no security in your land, really not knowing where you were going to go."

“Whereas this opportunity with Crown Estate Scotland it’s given us a solid foundation to plan a business. For us it has been able to progress a business for our children now. We feel young ourselves, but now it’s all about thinking what we can offer our kids going forward.”

FONE chair Henry Graham said:

“I was delighted to see that Crown Estate Scotland  used the selection matrix developed by the FONE Group for identifying new young tenants on the rural estates which it manages. I think this gives opportunities to the likes of Andrew and Suzanne which had not been there previously. We hope estate managers of publicly owned land will continue to follow this approach and expand the opportunities for young people."

“Through the FONE Group, we have also managed to drive funding for the Next Generation Practical Training Fund for New Entrants, as well as the Land Based Pre-Apprenticeship and the growth of the Scottish Land Matching Service with Independent Advisers. None of this has been easy in the current economic climate.”