Food and drink

A team of researchers led by The James Hutton Institute (JHI) in Aberdeen is hunting for volunteers to help them investigate what helps or hinders rural life in Scotland.

JHI is research institute located in Aberdeen and Dundee which focuses on the sustainable management of land, crops and natural resources for supporting thriving communities.

The Scottish Government today published the Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2022.

Supporting farmers and crofters to produce food more sustainably, work with nature and reduce emissions is at the heart of new draft legislation.

The Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill will reform how the government will support farming and food production in Scotland. It will legislate to introduce a new framework of support to replace the current Common Agricultural Policy.

Today sees the publication of two OECD reports focusing on Rural Innovation -  the 'Enhancing Innovation in Rural Regions: Scotland (UK)' and the thematic publication 'Networks and Rural-Urban Linkages for Rural Innovation'.

Stranraer Oyster Festival has ‘come of age’ according to organisers after drawing record crowds to the three day event in south west Scotland, that celebrates the wild, native oysters of Loch Ryan.

Romano Petrucci, Chair of Stranraer Development Trust, the community organisation that runs the festival, said:

Scottish farming businesses will see support payments start to reach their bank accounts this week, two weeks ahead of last year’s first payments. 

The Scottish Organic Milk Producers co-operative is celebrating 20 years of collaboration this Organic September with the launch of a new project that’s set to benefit organic dairy farmers across Scotland.

Researchers from The James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen are conducting surveys to understand the challenges of opportunities facing Scotland’s vast rural areas. In particular, their research focuses on localities as potential places to live, rural travel, and local food. 

Tickets for the Scottish Agritourism Conference are released for general sale today.  

Applications are also open for twenty scholarship places, which Scottish Rural Network (SRN) are funding as part of our remit to encourage innovation in agriculture and to support the delivery of the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP).

Scotland’s first ever National Islands Plan was published in 2019 and is now being reviewed as required by the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, which may lead to the publication of a new National Islands Plan.