Climate change monitoring report 2024
The fourth annual statutory monitoring report against the updated 2018 Climate Change Plan, as per the Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019.
8. Chapter 7: Agriculture
8.1 Part A - Overview of sector
The 2021 annual emissions envelope set in the CCPu for this sector was 6.8 MtCO2e, the actual emission statistics for this year show a position of 7.8 MtCO2e. As such, the sector was outside its envelope during 2021.
The CCPu sets out the following six policy outcomes for the sector, the indicators for which are summarised below:
A more productive, sustainable agriculture sector that significantly contributes toward delivering Scotland’s climate change, and wider environmental, outcomes through an increased uptake of climate mitigation measures by farmers, crofters, land managers and other primary food producers.
There are no indicators for this policy outcome. More information is provided in the body of this report.
| More farmers, crofters, land managers and other primary food producers are aware of the benefits and practicalities of cost effective climate mitigation measures | On Track | Off Track | Too Early to Say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increased engagement with Farm Advisory Services on environmental issues and climate change | Yes | - | - |
| Nitrogen emissions, including from nitrogen fertiliser, will have fallen through a combination of improved understanding efficiencies and improved soil condition | On Track | Off Track | Too Early to Say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use of Nitrogen fertilisers | Yes | - | - |
| Spreading precision of Nitrogen fertilisers | Yes | - | - |
| Nitrogen use efficiency for crop production | - | - | Yes |
| Reduced emissions from red meat and dairy through improved emissions intensity | On Track | Off Track | Too Early to Say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time taken from birth to slaughter and increased efficiency through improved health and reduced losses | Yes | - | - |
| Reduced emissions from the use and storage of manure and slurry. | On Track | Off Track | Too Early to Say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Improvement in covered slurry storage | Yes | - | - |
| Precision application of manure and slurry | - | - | Yes |
| Carbon sequestration and existing carbon stores on agricultural land have helped to increase and maintain our carbon sink. | On Track | Off Track | Too Early to Say |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area of woodland on agricultural land | Yes | - | - |
Just transition and cross economy Impacts:
We wish to understand and report on the broader just transition and cross-economy impacts of our emissions-reduction activities in addition to these sector specific policy outcomes and indicators. To do this, in this report we use data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS): Low Carbon Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) publication. The LCREE data presented in this report is based on survey data of businesses which perform economic activities that deliver goods and services that are likely to help generate lower emissions of greenhouse gases, such as low carbon electricity, low emission vehicles and low carbon services.
The LCREE indicator is narrowly defined and, while useful within its limited scope, does not give us the full picture of the impacts on workforce, employers and communities and progress towards a just transition. Over the next few years, we will work to develop a more meaningful set of success outcomes and indicators aimed at tracking the impacts of our policies on a just transition to net zero.
Sector commentary on progress
Our Vision for Agriculture outlines our aim to transform how we support farming and food production in Scotland to become a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.
To deliver the ambition set out in the Vision, in March 2024, we published an updated third edition of the Agricultural Reform Route Map including the changes which will come into effect from 2025 in three key areas:
- Introduction of peatlands and wetlands as a new condition of cross compliance
- Introduction of a new condition to the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS)
- The foundations of a Whole Farm Plan
This edition of the Agricultural Reform Route Map still makes clear, the existing framework of support will continue in 2024 and sets out what changes recipients of current farm payments will be expected to make from 2025 and beyond. It also sets out the process for changing to a new agricultural support framework from 2026. It still includes information on important dates, the measures being considered now, when current schemes will transition or end, the support available, and how to prepare for these first changes from 2025. The Future Support Framework’s proposed conditional payments will be under 4 tiers. Tier 1 Base Payment and Tier 2 Enhanced are direct payments while Tier 3 Elective will provide more targeted support with Tier 4 providing advice and knowledge transfer. They will continue to be refined as part of the ongoing co-design process.
Funding for Tiers 1 and 2, the tiers that will reflect most closely the direct payment regime, albeit with conditions built in from the start, will constitute at least 70% of the overall funding envelope to support farming, crofting, and land management from 2027 as announced by the First Minister in February 2024. We remain committed that at least half of all funding for farming and crofting will be targeted towards outcomes for biodiversity gain and a drive towards low carbon approaches to improve the resilience, efficiency, and profitability of the sector.
The National Test Programme was the first formalised step in supporting farmers and crofters to play their part in Scotland becoming a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture and to learn about how their work impacts on climate and nature. To help industry through this period of significant agricultural reform, ring-fenced budget has been deployed to support and encourage farmers and crofters to learn about how their work impacts on climate and nature. This includes financial support to undertake initiatives as part of Preparing for Sustainable Farming which is already helping businesses prepare for these changes with support for conducting carbon audits and soil sampling, support for animal health and welfare activities and access to herd data for Suckler beef producers through MyHerdStats.
Following an initial announcement at the Royal Highland Show in June 2023, a further announcement was made in March 2024, that from 2025 onwards:
- A new calving interval of 410 days measured on an individual animal basis added to the SSBSS, will only be eligible for a SSBSS payment. This condition is designed to help balance productivity and profitability and efficiency with the opportunity to address climate impact of emissions.
- The introduction of the first Whole Farm Plan conditions which require farmers and crofters to complete two baselining activities from a list of options including carbon audits, biodiversity audits, soil analysis, the creation of animal health and welfare plans or integrated pest management plans. These changes are designed to help all our farmers and crofters do more to produce food sustainably, to cut emissions and to farm more for nature.
- New conditions will be introduced to Cross Compliance in 2025. These are new peatland and wetland standards which will be added to GAEC 6 - Maintenance of soil organic matter. These standards will prohibit a range of activities from being carried out on peatland and wetland areas and include: Ploughing and cultivation; new drainage and maintenance of existing drainage systems that causes further drying out of the peatland. As well as activities that cause damage to the vegetation cover exposing the soil.
The Introduction of the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill to Parliament on the 28 September 2023 was a significant milestone in reforming our agricultural and wider rural support systems. The Bill will be the platform for measures focused on key Scottish Government outcomes: high quality food production; climate mitigation and adaptation; nature restoration; and wider rural development. It is of a framework nature, intended to deliver our published four-tier support framework and to enable continued co-development of detailed measures. Collectively, this will form a framework of support for agriculture, forestry, and rural communities and provides the opportunity to modernise the powers of the Scottish Ministers on areas relating to animal health and identification, welfare and genetic resources, and plant health.
The Scottish Government evidence pack Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill: supporting evidence and analysis was published on 29 September 2023. The report demonstrates the broad and robust evidence base underlying Scottish Government’s approach to agricultural reform and outlines the current position of the Scottish agricultural sector, with evidence aligned to the objectives in the Vision for Agriculture.
We continue to fund actions on farm which support climate change. The capital budget for the Agricultural Transformation Fund in 2023 was allocated to the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme to provide an extension of support for the provision of slurry storage across Scotland (except in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, 58 applications were approved with a commitment value of £2.14 million. A further £315 million has been committed to over 3,200 businesses through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme since 2015. The Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund has funded over 52 projects to a value of £7.5M since 2015. Four awards, to a value of £240K, were granted in 2023/24 with funding focused on projects which help maximise resource efficiency, cut emissions and enhance productivity.
We have continued to deliver extensive advice and support for farmers and crofters on how to mitigate their emissions and adapt to climate change throughout 2023 through The Farm Advisory Service, Farming for a Better Climate, Integrating Tree Network, Farming and Water Scotland, and the Monitor Farm Programme.
Developments in monitoring arrangements since last report
N/A
8.2 Part B - Progress to Policy Outcome Indicators
Policy Outcome: Cross-sectoral social and economic
Indicator: Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employment in Low Carbon Renewable Energy Economy Indicator
On-Track Assessment (Milestones/Targets): Year-to-year change
Most Recent Data: 2022
Data Source(s): Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Estimates, Office of National Statistics
Assessment: Too Early to Say
Commentary:
- In 2022, the Scottish low carbon renewable energy economy (LCREE) sectors were estimated to provide 25,700 FTE jobs.
- The estimates of LCREE are based on a relatively small sample of businesses and hence are subject to a wide confidence interval.
- Scottish LCREE employment in 2022 is lower than in 2021 but the difference is not statistically significant and caution should be exercised when interpreting year on year changes due to a high degree of uncertainty in estimates.
Source: Office of National Statistics (ONS) Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy Estimates
Policy Outcome: 2
Indicator: Increased engagement with Farm Advisory Services on environmental issues and climate change.
On-track Assessment (Milestones/Targets): Based on trend.
Most Recent Data: Farm Advisory Service (FAS) reporting and Farming for a Better Climate (FFBC) reporting
Data Source(s): FAS annual and lifetime reports and FFBC yearly progress reporting
Assessment: On track.
Commentary:
The FAS continues to see an increase in engagement and uptake on a range of advice the service offers. The structure of the service continues to support farmers and crofters through a period of significant uncertainty and change, whilst innovating and continuing to evolve the service to address future challenges, in particular the Scottish Government target for net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2045.
This includes advice to improve biodiversity; increase awareness of habitat and carbon sequestration benefits of woodland planting; promote climate change adaptation and mitigation opportunities; improve business management and efficiency; encourage inclusivity by supporting new entrants and women in agriculture; and helping to support the industry and Scottish government to evolve to meet future challenges.
| Completed | Total 23/24 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | ||
| Integrated Land Management Plan | 2 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 58 |
| Specialist Advice | 11 | 14 | 12 | 25 | 35 | 32 | 23 | 32 | 32 | 30 | 27 | 273 |
| Carbon Audits | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 6 | 15 | 17 | 22 | 23 | 11 | 122 |
| Mentoring | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 30 |
| 483 | ||||||||||||
Over 70% of service users stated they will implement all the actions recommended in their bespoke one-to-one consultancy advice supported by FAS.
Additionally, over 93% would rate the quality of the report as excellent or good. As of February 2024, there were 143 specialist advice plans focusing on biodiversity, habitat landscape management for 2023-24, which is a (346%) increase on 2022-23
| Activity | 23/24 | Total since 2016 (figures take into account the 23/24 data) |
|---|---|---|
| FAS Connect Group Events | 123 | 243 |
| FAS Live Events & Webinars | 137 | 1477 |
| RAS Roadshow | 14 | 14 |
| Publications | 199 | 1,665 |
| Videos | 126 | 804 |
| Podcasts & Audio | 94 | 401 |
| Tools | 2 | 50 |
| Event Participants | 6,640 | 37,230 |
| Video Views | 241,759 | 1,557,165 |
| Podcast Listens | 32,839 | 118,381 |
| Publication Downloads | 221,091 | 1,017,914 |
| Website Views | 1,211,094 | 6,239,159 |
| Advice Line Enquiries | 1,300 | 10,399 |
A growing percentage of attendees at FAS events feedback that they had an improved understanding of soil/nutrient management and climate change.
Farming for a Better (FFBC) offers support to farmers to find practical ways to cut carbon, increase sustainability, and move towards net-zero emissions within their farming system. FFBC continued to generated engagement in 2023 through:
FFBC webpage: Website visits totalled 41,053, a year-on-year increase of 1.5%. The number of page views totalled 117,756 page views which equates to a decrease of 4.9% compared to last year, however, the website underwent a major redesign which reduced the number of webpages and changed the user flow. The change was implemented in June, so the reduction of page views was expected.
Newsletter: By the end of 2023, the number of subscribers was 499 and the newsletter had an average open rate of 38%, with an average click rate of 7%.
Podcasts: Twelve podcasts were produced with a total of 623 listens. There were an additional 362 listens of previously produced podcasts.
Videos: There were eight new videos published with 1699 views. Additionally, previously produced videos were viewed 3840 times
Articles: In this reporting period, FFBC had over 20 articles in the agricultural press which includes Scottish Farmer, Farmers Weekly and a regular bi-monthly column in Farming Scotland Magazine.
Social media: FFBC on X, formerly known as Twitter, increased followers by 7.2% during the year to a total of 1897 followers. There were 71,678 Tweet impressions and increase of 1,641% to 71,678, Tweet engagements totalled 2,156, a 1091% increase and there were 674 post link clicks – an increase of 1334%.
Facebook followers increased to 1610, an annual increase of 10%. The number of post impressions totalled 27,374 and increase of 233%. Post engagement increased by 75% (1,088) and post link clicks increased by 60% (154).
Downloads: There were over 2942 downloads during the period, a decline on the previous year’s figures. The website redesign Is expected to have influenced this reduction.
Guides: Six new Practical Guides were published.
Policy Outcome: 3
Indicator: Use of Nitrogen fertilisers
On-track Assessment (Milestones/Targets): Based on trend.
Most Recent Data: 2022 (provisional)
Data Source(s): Dataset for The British Survey of Fertiliser Practice 2022, Table AA1.7
Assessment: On track
Commentary:
This data shows that from 2000, the use of nitrogen fertilisers in Scotland has decreased overall, with some fluctuation.
Nitrogen use decreased between 2002 and 2007, then remained largely stable until 2012 when it began to increase. Since 2017, there has been a downward trend from 157 kt total nitrogen use in 2017 to an estimated 118 kt total nitrogen use in 2022 (provisional data).
| Crop year | Nitrogen used (kt N) |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 150 |
| 2001 | 180 |
| 2002 | 187 |
| 2003 | 170 |
| 2004 | 150 |
| 2005 | 150 |
| 2006 | 153 |
| 2007 | 126 |
| 2008 | 127 |
| 2009 | 124 |
| 2010 | 127 |
| 2011 | 124 |
| 2012 | 125 |
| 2013 | 139 |
| 2014 | 151 |
| 2015 | 155 |
| 2016 | 155 |
| 2017 | 157 |
| 2018 | 147 |
| 2019 | 150 |
| 2020 | 131 |
| 2021 | 135 |
| 2022 [p] | 118 |
Note: Years are crop rather than calendar years (e.g. 2022 refers to the 2021/22 crop years, fertiliser consumption period July to June). Data for 2022 are provisional.
Policy Outcome: 3
Indicator: Spreading precision of Nitrogen fertilisers.
On-track Assessment (Milestones/Targets): Based on trend.
Most Recent Data: 2022
Data Source(s): Dataset for The British Survey of Fertiliser Practice 2022, Table AA1.1
Assessment: On track
Commentary:
This data shows that from 2000, the overall application rates of nitrogen fertilisers have decreased, with some fluctuation.
The trend shows that the overall nitrogen application rates decreased from 118 kg/ha in 2000 to 63 kg/ha in 2022.
| Year | Total overall nitrogen application rates (kg/ha), crops and grass |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 118 |
| 2001 | 127 |
| 2002 | 119 |
| 2003 | 114 |
| 2004 | 107 |
| 2005 | 102 |
| 2006 | 98 |
| 2007 | 89 |
| 2008 | 81 |
| 2009 | 84 |
| 2010 | 80 |
| 2011 | 79 |
| 2012 | 79 |
| 2013 | 87 |
| 2014 | 87 |
| 2015 | 89 |
| 2016 | 86 |
| 2017 | 86 |
| 2018 | 85 |
| 2019 | 82 |
| 2020 | 73 |
| 2021 | 77 |
| 2022 | 63 |
Policy Outcome: 3
Indicator: Nitrogen use efficiency for crop production.
On-track Assessment (Milestones/Targets): Based on trend.
Most Recent Data:
Data Source(s): Scottish Nitrogen Balance Sheet 2020, Table 1; Establishing a Scottish Nitrogen Balance Sheet (SNBS)
Assessment: Too early to say
Commentary:
Through The Climate Change (Nitrogen Balance Sheet) (Scotland) Regulations 2022, Scotland has committed to establishing a statutory whole-economy Nitrogen Balance Sheet, with regular formal review.
Crop production underpins much of wider food production, which in turn is the main engine of overall national nitrogen use in Scotland. Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) is an important summary indicator metric that can be calculated from the comprehensive dataset on nitrogen flows assembled in the Scottish Nitrogen Balance Sheet (SNBS).
It is important to note that NUE in arable production inherently varies depending on farm type/systems, management, environmental conditions (soils, climate), etc. While good management can reduce losses, in practice some losses are inevitable due to continuous nitrogen transformation processes in soils and leaching. As such, crop production NUE values between 50-90% can generally be considered desirable but there is no simple one size fits all “good value.”
Contributors to Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in crop production:
| Inputs to arable land (excludes recycling terms) | Size of Input Flow (kt N per year) | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019, except for N deposition which is 2018 | 2020, except for N deposition which is 2019 | |
| mineral fertiliser (to arable/crops) | 62.1 | 63.5 |
| slurry/manure (to arable/crops) | 17.8 | 17.9 |
| atmospheric N deposition (to arable) | 4 | 4.0 |
| digestate (non-crop/crop waste feedstocks only) (data not available as split between arable/grass - using 50%) | 1.7 | 2.0 |
| seeds (sowing/planting) | 1.7 | 1.7 |
| biological N fixation (BNF) by arable crops | 1.6 | 1.8 |
| sewage sludge (data not split into arable/grass - using 50%) | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| compost (assumed to go to arable/horticulture) | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| total N inputs | 90.2 | 93.1 |
| Useful outputs | Size of Output Flow (kt N per year) | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019, except for N deposition which is 2018 | 2020, except for N deposition which is 2019 | |
| harvest (as food, includes human-edible crops that end up as livestock feed, seed materials or biomass) | 56.3 | 56.7 |
| harvest (planted as fodder crops) | 1.9 | 1.6 |
| total N outputs | 58.2 | 58.2 |
| Year | 2019, except for N deposition which is 2018 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) | 65% | 62.5% |
Note: Recycling terms are not included in either inputs or outputs for the purpose of this Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) calculation: digestate from crops, crop residues.
Policy Outcome: 4
Indicator: Time taken from birth to slaughter and increased efficiency through improved health and reduced losses.
On-track Assessment (Milestones/Targets): Based on Trend
Most Recent Data: 2023
Data Source(s): Cattle Tracing Scheme, analysis by SRUC
Assessment: On track
Average age of prime animal slaughter by farm type, Scotland 2015 to 2023
| Mean age (months) | Number of animals | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| All farm types | 2015 | 22.89 | 363,722 |
| 2016 | 22.52 | 371,670 | |
| 2017 | 22.41 | 360,737 | |
| 2018 | 22.37 | 354,711 | |
| 2019 | 22.39 | 356,875 | |
| 2020 | 22.17 | 353,192 | |
| 2021 | 21.90 | 347,354 | |
| 2022 | 21.96 | 345,432 | |
| 2023 | 22.04 | 328,754 | |
| Beef | 2015 | 21.86 | 150,714 |
| 2016 | 21.56 | 156,325 | |
| 2017 | 21.41 | 147,918 | |
| 2018 | 21.37 | 139,813 | |
| 2019 | 21.44 | 146,477 | |
| 2020 | 21.31 | 144,711 | |
| 2021 | 21.10 | 145,406 | |
| 2022 | 21.12 | 141,194 | |
| 2023 | 21.10 | 115,567 | |
| Dairy | 2015 | 22.35 | 17,345 |
| 2016 | 22.18 | 17,327 | |
| 2017 | 22.12 | 14,214 | |
| 2018 | 22.41 | 12,145 | |
| 2019 | 21.98 | 12,342 | |
| 2020 | 22.07 | 10,552 | |
| 2021 | 21.92 | 8,860 | |
| 2022 | 22.35 | 9,164 | |
| 2023 | 23.53 | 8,466 | |
| Finisher | 2015 | 23.73 | 177,399 |
| 2016 | 23.32 | 183,674 | |
| 2017 | 23.15 | 182,897 | |
| 2018 | 23.11 | 185,781 | |
| 2019 | 23.13 | 182,274 | |
| 2020 | 22.81 | 183,723 | |
| 2021 | 22.49 | 182,038 | |
| 2022 | 22.53 | 179,657 | |
| 2023 | 22.49 | 185,946 | |
| Trader | 2015 | 23.71 | 14,842 |
| 2016 | 22.75 | 10,798 | |
| 2017 | 23.30 | 11,184 | |
| 2018 | 22.01 | 12,463 | |
| 2019 | 22.63 | 11,675 | |
| 2020 | 22.39 | 11,014 | |
| 2021 | 22.17 | 8,613 | |
| 2022 | 22.64 | 11,597 | |
| 2023 | 22.34 | 14,765 | |
| Grower | 2015 | 24.52 | 3,422 |
| 2016 | 24.78 | 3,546 | |
| 2017 | 23.63 | 4,524 | |
| 2018 | 23.56 | 4,509 | |
| 2019 | 23.94 | 4,107 | |
| 2020 | 24.16 | 3,192 | |
| 2021 | 23.95 | 2,437 | |
| 2022 | 23.63 | 3,820 | |
| 2023 | 24.29 | 4,010 |
Note: the animals need not have been slaughtered in Scotland. Figures do not include indirect routes to slaughter.
Commentary:
Overall, the average age of prime animal slaughter has shown a downward trend between 2015 and 2023. In the most recent year, there was a small increase in the average age overall and for dairy and grower specifically, while the other farm types showed a decrease. Overall the trend is still downwards over the reported period.
We expect this to continue to reduce towards around 18 months. However, as most calves are spring born, we do not expect the whole industry to shift to an 18-month age of slaughter and so we expect the mean age of slaughter to remain above 18 months.
Policy Outcome: 5
Indicator: Improvement in covered slurry storage
On-track Assessment (Milestones/Targets): Based on trend.
Most Recent Data: 2016
Data Source(s): Farm Structure Survey 2016 Scottish Survey of Farm Structure and Methods, 2016 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Assessment: On track
| All holdings with storage | All holdings with storage, of which are covered | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| number of holdings | percentage of all holdings | number of holdings | percentage of holdings with storage | |
| Storage for solid dung | 8,963 | 27.1 | 1,253 | 12.7 |
| Storage facilities for slurry | 3,838 | 12 | 2,354 | 61.3 |
| Storage facilities for slurry, in a tank | 3,487 | 10.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Storage facilities for slurry, in a lagoon | 641 | 1.9 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 9,882 | 29.8 | 8,482 | 85.8 |
Note: Sum of sub-categories do not equal base figure as holdings may employ more than one form of storage
| All holdings with storage | All holdings with storage, of which are covered | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| number of holdings | percentage of all holdings | number of holdings | percentage of holdings with storage | |
| Storage for solid dung | 6,178 | 19.2 | 720 | 11.7 |
| Storage facilities for slurry | 3,007 | 9.3 | 1,872 | 62.3 |
| Storage facilities for slurry, in a tank | 2,739 | 8.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Storage facilities for slurry, in a lagoon | 571 | 1.8 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 7,161 | 22.2 | 6,204 | 86.6 |
Note: Sum of sub-categories do not equal base figure as holdings may employ more than one form of storage
Commentary:
The data show a small overall increase in the percentage of holdings with covered slurry stores between 2013 (85.8%) and 2016 (86.6%).
We expect the percentage of slurry stores that are covered to continue to increase over time. This is likely to increase at a similar rate to that of the change between 2013 and 2016 due to the significant investment required to cover slurry stores or build new slurry stores with covers.
This data was gathered as part of the Scottish Survey of Farm Structure and Methods in 2016. Data on the storage and use of slurry and manure was collected as part of the 2023 June Agricultural Census and will be published in 2024.
Support for slurry stores is available through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme and the Sustainable Agricultural Capital Grants Scheme (SACGS) 2022 focused on providing support for low emission slurry spreading equipment and slurry store covers that are proven to reduce harmful ammonia emissions and reduce adverse impacts on water quality resulting from the storage and spreading of livestock slurry and digestate.
Policy Outcome: 5
Indicator: Precision application of manure and slurry
On-track Assessment (Milestones/Targets): Based on trend.
Most Recent Data: 2016
Data Source(s): Farm Structure Survey 2016
Assessment: Too early to say (baselining)
Method of manure and slurry application by tonnage, Scotland 2016
| holdings | tonnes | |
|---|---|---|
| Broadcast | ||
| Ploughed in or injected within four hours | 920 | 385,842 |
| ploughed in after four hours | 5,146 | 2,117,346 |
| Not ploughed in or injected | 4,957 | 9,322,483 |
| Bandspread | ||
| Trailing hose | 550 | 4,178,295 |
| Trailing shoe | 294 | 602,161 |
| Injection | ||
| Shallow/open slot | 63 | 576,821 |
| Deep/closed slot | 11 | 31,043 |
| Total applied | 9,246 | 17,213,991 |
Commentary:
This data was gathered as part of the Scottish Survey of Farm Structure and Methods in 2016. Data on the storage and use of slurry and manure was collected as part of the 2023 June Agricultural Census and will be published in 2024.
The Sustainable Agricultural Capital Grants Scheme (SACGS) 2022 focused on providing support for low emission slurry spreading equipment and slurry store covers that are proven to reduce harmful ammonia emissions and reduce adverse impacts on water quality resulting from the storage and spreading of livestock slurry and digestate.
Policy Outcome: 6
Indicator: Area of woodland on agricultural land.
On-track Assessment (Milestones/Targets): Based on trend.
Most Recent Data: 2021
Data Source(s): Forestry Statistics 2022 Table 1.12
Assessment: On track
Commentary: The area of farm woodland in Scotland increased between 2012 and 2021. The area of farm woodland in Scotland increased from 445 thousand hectares (ha) to 550 thousand ha over the period 2012 – 2021.
The area of woodland on agricultural land is estimated using data from the June Agricultural Census (JAC) and administrative data sources. Data is currently available up to 2021 and published by Forest Research. Please note that users should use this data with caution following methodological changes in 2015.
The June Agricultural Census was reviewed in 2022 and this work highlighted further quality concerns with the farm woodland data and, therefore, estimates are not currently available after 2021.
Area of farm woodland, Scotland 2012 to 2021 (thousand hectares)
2012: 445
2013: 467
2014: 479
2015: 524
2016: 502
2017: 560
2018: 532
2019: 529
2020: 546
2021: 550
8.3 Part C - Information on implementation of individual policies
Outcome 1: A more productive, sustainable agriculture sector that significantly contributes towards delivering Scotland’s climate change, and wider environmental outcomes through an increased uptake of climate mitigation measures by farmers, crofters, land managers and other primary food producers.
Policy: Scale up the Agricultural Transformation Programme across all the policies, including monitoring to assess the effectiveness of the pilot Sustainable Agricultural Capital Grant Scheme that will enable farmers and crofters to purchase equipment that should assist in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, and support practice change
Date announced: 2019-2020 Programme for Government (PfG)
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu:
We continue to take forward actions to deliver the ambitions set in the Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture where Scotland will have a Future Support Framework (FSF) that delivers high quality food production, climate mitigation and adaptation, and nature restoration. The FSF proposes mechanisms under the new Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill to enable conditional payments under four tiers: Base, Enhanced, Elective, and Complementary.
The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament in September 2023. The Bill will be the platform for measures focused on key Scottish Government outcomes: high quality food production; climate mitigation and adaptation; nature restoration; and wider rural development. It is of a framework nature, intended to deliver our published four-tier support framework and to enable continued co-develop of detailed measures. The Bill is an enabling one, it enables tailored provisions and support to be implemented through secondary legislation and potentially adapted on a regular basis as required. We also published the Agriculture Bill – Analysis of Consultation Responses in June 2023.
A phased transition approach to the new FSF was outlined in the Agriculture Reform Route Map (the Route Map) published in February 2023. In March 2024, we published an updated third edition of the Route Map including the changes which will come into effect from 2025 in three key areas:
- Introduction of Peatlands and Wetlands as a new condition of cross compliance
- Introduction of a new condition to the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme
- The foundations of a Whole Farm Plan
This edition of the Agricultural Reform Route Map still makes clear, the existing framework of support will continue in 2024 and sets out what changes recipients of current farm payments will be expected to make from 2025 and beyond. It also sets out the process for changing to a new agricultural support framework from 2026. It still includes information on important dates, the measures being considered now, when current schemes will transition or end, the support available, and how to prepare for these first changes from 2025. The Future Support Framework’s proposed conditional payments will be under 4 tiers. Tier 1 Base Payment and Tier 2 Enhanced are direct payments while Tier 3 Elective will provide more targeted.
Under Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF) we are delivering transitional support for businesses to prepare for the future with three options. Scottish farmers, crofters, and agricultural contractors can claim funding for: carbon audits, soil sampling and analysis and animal health and welfare interventions.
Preparing for Sustainable Farming claim stats 1 January 2022 to 29 February 2024
| Scheme year 2022 and 2023 | claims submitted | Claim value |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon Audits | 1279 | £639,500.00 |
| Soil analysis | 1818 | £2,305,499.73 |
| Animal Health & Welfare | 1368 | £929,250.00 |
| Total | 3434 | £3,874,249.73 |
Communications on PSF have been significantly increased during 2023 aligning with the route map. Communications have included meeting farmers and crofters directly at shows across Scotland, producing and circulating case study videos with farmers, explaining their experience and benefits gained, and creating and distributing promotional flyers.
The Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board continues to support the implementation of policy reform, advising on incorporating the relevant recommendations from the farmer -led groups to cut emissions across agriculture, support the production of sustainable, high -quality food, address the twin crises of climate and nature/loss of biodiversity, and design a new system and approach.
The capital budget for the Agricultural Transformation Fund (ATF) in 2022-23 was allocated to the Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme (SACGS) 2022 to provide support for low emission slurry spreading equipment and slurry store covers. 464 payments worth £3.1 million were made in total; building on the £2.1m paid in the SACGS 2021 pilot for similar such equipment.
The capital budget for the ATF 2023 was allocated to the Agri–Environment Climate Scheme to provide an extension of support for the provision of slurry storage across Scotland (except in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones). 58 applications were approved with a commitment value of £2.14 million. The capital budget for ATF 2024 is again allocated to the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme for slurry storage.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- The Preparing for Sustainable Farming will run until 2025 and we will increase awareness of timescales for Agricultural Reform via promotions throughout 2024.
- Agricultural Transformation Fund is continuing to support capital investment and is expected to be incorporate into the new framework.
- The Enhanced Tier is due to be rolled out from 2026.
- The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill continues its progress through the Scottish Parliament.
Policy: Develop rural support policy to enable, encourage and where appropriate, require the shift to low carbon, sustainable farming through emissions reduction, sustainable food production, improving biodiversity, planting biomass crops and appropriate land use change developed in line with just transition principles.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu:
The Scottish Government published the Agriculture Bill – Analysis of Consultation Responses in June 2023 and introduced the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill (the Bill) to the Scottish Parliament in September 2023.
To deliver the ambitions set out in the Scottish Government Vision for Agriculture, Scotland will have a Future Support Framework (FSF) that delivers high quality food production, climate mitigation and adaptation, and nature restoration. The FSF proposes mechanisms under the new Bill to enable conditional payments under four tiers: Base, Enhanced, Elective, and Complementary.
A phased transition approach to the new FSF was outlined in the updated Route Map in June 2023, which included details on the introduction of the foundations of the Whole Farm Plan (WFP) from 2025. In March 2024 we announced further information on the WFP, which will require farmers and crofters to complete two baselining activities from a list of options including carbon audits, biodiversity audits, soil analysis, the creation of animal health and welfare plans or integrated pest management plans. These changes are designed to help all our farmers and crofters do more to produce food sustainably, to cut emissions and to farm more for nature.
The Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board continues to advise on the implementation of policy reform and the outcomes of supporting the production of sustainable, high -quality food, while addressing the twin crises of climate and nature/loss of biodiversity through the future support framework.
Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF) continues to deliver transitional support for businesses to prepare for the future with three options that Scottish farmers, crofters, and agricultural contractors can claim funding for: carbon audits, soil sampling and analysis and animal health and welfare interventions. Communications on PSF have included meeting farmers and crofters directly at shows across Scotland, distributing case study videos to farmers, and creating and distributing promotional flyers.
We continue to develop the Land use and Agriculture Just Transition Plan, with a view to publishing a draft for consultation in the second half of 2024. As part of the Scottish Government commitment to co-design and co-development, an extensive series of overarching Just Transition stakeholder events, both in-person and online, took place across the country during 2023. These included 11 community-based workshops in rural areas, focusing exclusively on the land use and agriculture sector. They have provided access to a wealth of insight and lived experience of those who live and work on Scotland’s land, helping inform the content of the Plan.
In March 2024 the draft Bioenergy Policy Statement was published and is seeking views on the potential to scale up domestic production of biomass via planting of perennial energy crops. The draft statement sets out that this must be done in a sustainable way and careful planning will be required to manage the potential synergies and trade-offs between goals for bioenergy, biodiversity, and food production. This highlights the importance of taking a joined up approach to tackling the climate and nature emergencies while also supporting future food security.
The consultation will run until June 2024 and is seeking evidence on the scale of planting of perennial energy crops which may be feasible, the opportunities and barriers, views on best practice to integrate energy crops within the agricultural landscape, and interaction with our commitments to restore and regenerate biodiversity. The evidence provided in the consultation will be used to inform policy positions which will be published in a final Bioenergy Policy Statement.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- The Preparing for Sustainable Farming will run until 2025 and we will increase awareness of timescales for Agricultural Reform via promotions throughout 2024.
- The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill continues its progress through the Scottish Parliament.
- A final Bioenergy Policy Statement will be developed in due course.
- Whole Farm Plan conditions commence in 2025.
Policy: Develop new schemes and approaches to support low carbon, sustainable farming, including through the Programme Board for the Beef Suckler Climate Group, other farmer-led groups on arable, dairy and high value, nature farming and crofting which will report in 2021.
Date announced: 2020-2021 PfG and Agriscot 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu:
The Preparing for Sustainable Farming is continuing to deliver transitional support for businesses to prepare for the future with three options that Scottish farmers, crofters, and agricultural contractors can claim funding for: carbon audits, soil sampling and analysis and animal health and welfare interventions.
The Future Support Framework (FSF) proposes mechanisms under the new Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill to enable conditional payments under four tiers: Base, Enhanced, Elective, and Complementary.
We published an updated third edition of the Route Map in March 2024 which included the changes which will come into effect from 2025 on the introduction of a new condition to the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS). The new conditions will be linked to calving interval performance, which aims to encourage beef producers to undertake steps that will help to reduce the emissions' intensity of their cattle production systems and make them more financially efficient. Also, from 2025 onwards, calves will only be eligible for a SSBSS payment if their dam has a calving interval threshold of 410 days or less, or if the calf is the first registered birth associated with that dam. This condition is designed to help balance productivity and profitability with the opportunity to address climate impact of emissions.
The free-to-use MyHerdStats tool allows farmers and crofters to view performance indicators for their herds, allowing them to identify opportunities for improvements to herd efficiency, including calving intervals.
We continue to support land managers to undertake actions that help to mitigate and adapt to climate change and restore nature through schemes such as the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS). Following the outcome of applications to the 2023 round of the scheme, the Scottish Government has now committed over £315 million to over 3,200 businesses since the scheme was launched in 2015.
The Agricultural Transformation Fund (ATF) is intended to underpin support for the agricultural sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve efficiency and enhance Scotland’s natural environment through the period of transition. The capital budget for ATF 2024 is £3 million plus a further £1.47 million of AECS allocation which has been allocated to provide an extension of the provision of support for slurry storage across Scotland (except in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones which have previously been supported to meet regulatory requirements) and to increase the provision of irrigation lagoons.
In 2023, the Scottish Government continued to work in partnership with NatureScot to deliver the Farming with Nature programme to support positive management for climate and biodiversity, and collaborative action across landholdings at a field, farm and landscape level. The programme is piloting new approaches to support farmers to deliver for nature to inform the ambition of the new agricultural support framework as set out in the Vision for Agriculture.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- The Preparing for Sustainable Farming will run until 2025 and we will increase awareness of timescales for Agricultural Reform via promotions throughout 2024.
- Agricultural Transformation Fund is continuing to support capital investment and is expected to be incorporate into the new framework.
- The Enhanced Tier is due to be rolled out from 2026.
- Agri-Environment Climate Scheme is expected to continue to 2026, subject to funding, until the Elective Support is implemented.
- New calving conditions under the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme come into effect in 2025.
Policy: Introduce Environmental Conditionality, from 2021 via implementation of the Beef Suckler Climate Report and, more widely from 2022, through the review of existing CAP Greening which will extend the requirements to all farmers and crofters to undertake environmental actions.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu:
The Preparing for Sustainable Farming is continuing to deliver transitional support for businesses to prepare for the future with three options that Scottish farmers, crofters, and agricultural contractors can claim funding for: carbon audits, soil sampling and analysis and animal health and welfare interventions.
To deliver the ambitions set out in the Scottish Government Vision for Agriculture, Scotland will have a Future Support Framework (FSF) that delivers high-quality food production, climate mitigation and adaptation, and nature restoration. In the future, at least half of all funding for farming and crofting will be targeted towards outcomes for biodiversity gain and a drive towards low-carbon approaches to improve the resilience, efficiency, and profitability of the sector. The FSF proposes mechanisms under the new Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill to enable conditional payments under four tiers: Base, Enhanced, Elective, and Complementary.
A phased transition approach to the new FSF was outlined in the updated Route Map in June 2023. An update to the route map occurred March 2024 as part of the move to the new framework and included details that:
- From 2025 onwards a new calving interval of 410 days measured on an individual animal basis added to the Scottish Sucker Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS), will only be eligible for a SSBSS payment.
- The introduction of the first Whole Farm Plan conditions from 2025 will require farmers and crofters to complete two baselining activities from a list of options including carbon audits, biodiversity audits, soil analysis, the creation of animal health and welfare plans or integrated pest management plans.
- New conditions will be introduced to Cross Compliance in 2025. These are new peatland and wetland standards which will be added to GAEC 6 - Maintenance of soil organic matter. These standards will prohibit a range of activities from being carried out on peatland and wetland areas.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- The Preparing for Sustainable Farming will run until 2025 and we will increase awareness of timescales for Agricultural Reform via promotions throughout 2024.
- Whole Farm Plan conditions commence in 2025.
- New calving conditions under the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme come into effect in 2025.
- New conditions to Cross Compliance in 2025. These are new peatland and wetland standards which will be added to GAEC 6.
Policy: Further provision of advice for farmers and crofters who wish to retire: A new commitment to work with stakeholders to provide advice, including further extending the Land Matching Service and guidance for farmers and crofters who wish to step back from agricultural businesses by providing an opportunity to consider alternative land-uses or alternative agricultural uses
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu:
Scottish Land Matching Service is a free service offering independent advice and facilitation to those considering options for joint ventures in farming. It is available to anyone either seeking an opportunity to start on a joint farming venture or those looking to offer an opportunity on their farm.
- 772 enquiries since the service launched in October 2019.
- 96 further enquiries over the last quarter.
- 23 enquires received for farming opportunities.
- 16 were from seekers of opportunities and
- 7 were from potential providers.
For Crofting opportunities
- 73 enquires received were from seekers.
- and 0 potential providers.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Outcome 2: More farmers, crofters, land managers and other primary food producers are aware of the benefits and practicalities of cost effective climate mitigation measures.
Policy: The dissemination of information and advice on climate change mitigation measures in agriculture through a range of communication methods utilising technology and all media to best effect.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu:
The Farm Advisory Service (FAS) has continued to offer easy access, up to date and relevant climate change mitigation knowledge and information to all farmers and crofters through a network of advisory centres, peer-to-peer support groups, online resources, and a telephone advice facility. Since 2016, the programme has delivered and produced:
- 1,648 publications.
- 790 videos.
- 392 podcasts and 40 online tools.
- 1,697 events.
We estimate that more than 70% of this activity will be around climate change adaptation and mitigation support. Event attendees highlighted an improved knowledge of climate change, improved soil/nutrient management, and improved knowledge of environmental issues and opportunities.
In terms of FAS one to one support since 2016 it has delivered:
- 2,200 Carbon Audits.
- 505 Integrated Land Management Plans.
- 1000 Specialist Advice plans and
- 111 mentoring support plans.
Several specialist advice outputs have been undertaken under this FAS programme including:
- 19% woodland management and conservation.
- 19% improved farm efficiency.
- 17% biodiversity habitat landscape management.
- 3% climate change adaptation and mitigation.
- 1% on organics.
- 19% on soil and nutrient management.
To improve communications, regular interaction with existing, new stakeholders and Scottish Government departments has taken place to ensure communications are consistent, accurate, and up to date.
Farming for a Better Climate (FFBC) continued to deliver guidance and advice for farmers and crofters on climate change through its website, social media, podcasts, and videos. FFBC also tested new technologies and approaches to reducing emissions through three trial farms, communicating practical findings across the initiative’s networks to enable uptake of those measures.
We continue to communicate, educate, and demonstrate the benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures with peer-to-peer engagement through initiatives like the Agriculture, Biodiversity and Climate Change Network and the Integrating Tree Network.
The Next Generation Practical Training Fund aims to support new entrants to farming by providing the opportunity for skills development and training on the practicalities of agricultural practice as well as wider business and sustainability skills. One of the key aims of the fund is to encourage more new, and prospective new entrants/next generation to uptake training courses with a particular focus on: climate change adaptation and mitigation practices, and biodiversity/habitats improvement, but also other equally important areas such as health and safety, equipment training, business efficiency and resilience.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- The current Farm Advisory Service contracts are scheduled to end April 2024. We have a tender out to publicly procure new contracts to commence in 2024 and end in 2027 with an option to extend until 2028.
Policy: An agri-tech group will be established to share, disseminate and encourage adoption of advances in agricultural science and technology as widely as possible
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: Completed. The agri-tech group concluded, and engagement with industry on agricultural science and technology has continued through the farmer-led groups, Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board and the National Test Programme.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Policy: Launch a new and expanded peer to peer knowledge transfer initiative based on the success of our Young Climate Change Champions work.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: Completed - The Agriculture Biodiversity and Climate Change Network launched in June 2022.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Policy: Realign and enhance our established programmes and initiatives such as the Farm Advisory Service, the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund and Monitor Farm Programme to create a more cohesive approach to ensure advice and support is focussed on helping industry to professionalise to support sustainable farming.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu:
During 2023 a project plan was set out and agreed by Scottish Ministers for the development of the Tier 4 of the Vision of Agriculture Support Package Beyond 2025 which focused on the development of an Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS). In June 2023 research to inform the development of the AKIS was published in the research and options paper “Establishing an agricultural knowledge and innovation system.”
In September 2023 powers were introduced into the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill to establish a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) regime and for support for knowledge, innovation, education, and training. These powers will be needed to implement the AKIS, which includes the CPD regime, in Tier 4 of the Vision of Agriculture Support Package.
We gathered views through an informal consultation circulated to stakeholder organisations to help determine what the AKIS will look like. The Scottish Government will consider all the responses and will develop proposals for a further consultation on AKIS.
The Farm Advisory Service has continued to offer easy access, up to date and relevant climate change mitigation knowledge and information to all farmers and crofters through a network of advisory centres, peer-to-peer support groups, online resources, and a telephone advice facility.
Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF) has funded over 52 projects to a value of £7.5M since 2015. Four awards, to a value of £240K, were granted in 2023/24 with funding focused on projects which help maximise resource efficiency, cut emissions and enhance productivity. These KTIF projects support knowledge transfer and learning, as well as innovative on-the-ground improvements in agricultural competitiveness, resource efficiency, environmental performance, and sustainability.
The Monitor Farm programme aims to instigate positive transformational change in innovative sustainable farming practices on nine Scottish farms and to use the learnings from these farms for the benefit of farmers across Scotland. The programme’s aim will be achieved through assisting to build resilient, dynamic farms focused on attaining full economic, social, and environmental sustainability. The methods used and results achieved will be developed using the data gathered from the 100+ farming businesses participating in the programme and will help create outputs in greater detail. To date the programme has delivered:
- Integrated Land Management Plans for each of the nine Monitor Farm
- Baseline soil sampling for them completed.
- Specialist plans for each of the nine farms complete.
- 36 management meetings.
- YouTube channel created with 210 subscribers and 22.5k views.
- Positive feedback from meetings and events with 73% of attendees planning to make a change after attending a Monitor Farm meeting (such as forage budgeting, taking faecal egg counts, utilising soil testing, blood sampling for minerals, water pump to utilise more rotational grazing).
- Over 110 attendees at the Lamb Selection meeting at UA Huntly. The feedback highlighted 79% of attendees had not been to a Monitor Farm meeting before demonstrating the value of cluster meetings to reach new audiences.
Farming for a Better Climate (FFBC) continued to deliver guidance and advice for farmers and crofters on climate change through its website, social media, podcasts, and videos.
We continued to communicate, educate, and demonstrate the benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures with peer-to-peer engagement through initiatives like the Integrating Tree Network.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- Will develop proposals on the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System consultation towards the end of 2024.
- The current Farm Advisory Service contracts are scheduled to end April 2024. We have a tender out to publicly procure new contracts to commence in 2024 and end in 2027 with an option to extend until 2028.
- The Monitor Farm programme will has funding until 2026.
Policy: Carbon Audits: in 2018, we will consult on how best to ensure maximum take up of carbon audits and how to enable tenant farmers and crofters in particular to benefit.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: Under Preparing for Sustainable Farming farmers and crofters can claim funding towards carbon audits to improve their knowledge of current environmental performance and improve efficiency. So far, we have funded 1279 carbon audits since 1 January 2022. We will build on this by raising awareness of the opportunity for scheme year 2024 and the benefits it creates for the environment.
Carbon audits have also been funded through the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) since 2016. To date, 2,228 carbon audits have been delivered and completed through the FAS.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- Whole Farm Plan conditions (including the option of performing a carbon audit under it) commence in 2025.
- The Preparing for Sustainable Farming will run until 2025 and we will increase awareness of timescales for Agricultural Reform via promotions throughout 2024.
Policy: We will explore with stakeholders, including the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association and the Tenant Farming Commissioner, how best to engage tenant farmers to increase understanding of the environmental and economic benefits of low carbon farming.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: The Tenants and Trees group continues to hold discussions involving stakeholders on how to engage tenant farmers via the Tenant Farming Advisory Forum.
The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill introduced March 2024 includes a number of measures to radically reform tenant farming legislation, to make it fit for the future. It will provide more opportunities for tenants to deliver improvements to the land they work, become more sustainable and productive, and play their part in supporting biodiversity.
The Small Producers Pilot Fund is the replacement for the Small Farm Grant Scheme. The future development of the pilot will take place in 2024 taking forward elements of the Small Producer Pilot Fund Steering Group recommendations. The Fund will aim to support a range of Scottish Government outcomes including climate as follows:
- Community – support and sustain Scotland’s communities (including our most remote rural and island communities) and bring associated health benefits through the production, supply, and consumption of fresh local produce.
- Industry - facilitating the growth of a diverse and resilient food and drink industry.
- Collaboration – develop the Fund with industry stakeholders and promoting collaboration within the small producer community.
- Climate - promote adaptive and sustainable as well as regenerative, climate and environmentally friendly practices enabling small producer participation in the transition to net zero and the achieving of environmental and biodiversity targets.
- Equality of Opportunity – deliver the opportunity for small producers to improve and grow their businesses to become more viable and profitable.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- Development of the Small Producers Pilot Fund will take place during 2024.
- Land Reform (Scotland) Bill continues its progress through the Scottish Parliament.
Policy: Marketing scheme: Determine the feasibility of a Low Carbon Farming marketing scheme.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: Completed - Naturally Scottish launched in January 2024.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Outcome 3: Nitrogen emissions, including from nitrogen fertiliser, will have fallen through a combination of improved understanding, efficiencies and improved soil condition.
Policy: Communicate and demonstrate the benefits of precision farming and nitrogen use efficiency in order to achieve a reduction in GHG emissions.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: The Farm Advisory Service (FAS) has continued to offer easy access, up to date and relevant climate change mitigation knowledge and information to all farmers and crofters through a network of advisory centres, peer-to-peer support groups, online resources, and a telephone advice facility.
Several specialist advice outputs covering precision farming and nitrogen use have been undertaken under this FAS programme including on woodland management and conservation, on improved farm efficiency, woodland management and conservation, biodiversity habitat landscape management, climate change adaptation and mitigation, organics, and soil and nutrient management.
Farming for a Better Climate continued to deliver guidance and advice for farmers and crofters on climate change through its website, social media, podcasts, and videos and includes a range of additional materials that supports farmers and crofters to take action in this area including a page on Soils, Fertilisers and Manures.
Guidance and advice on diffuse pollution and the water environment is provided to farmers by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and information is available on the Farming and Water Scotland website, an initiative funded by Scottish Government.
The current iteration of the Scottish Nitrogen Balance Sheet (SNBS) was published in May 2023, with the accompanying progress report. This iteration indicates that Scotland’s national nitrogen efficiency has increased to 26.9% in 2020 from the 25.2% baseline in 2019 (which was published in December 2021).
The SNBS will help to support progress towards Scotland’s national climate targets by tracking nitrogen use efficiency. In addition, it will support a range of wider policy applications such as air quality and the promotion of efficiency in food production. Going forward the SNBS will be used to help identify where key opportunities for improvement lie.
Under Preparing for Sustainable Farming farmers and crofters can claim funding towards carbon audits, this option is to provide strong encouragement for every farm in Scotland to improve awareness of their climate performance. The carbon audits help establish a business’s carbon footprint, it identifies the sources and quantities of greenhouse gas emissions on farms and areas where simple changes can lead to improved efficiency and reduced operating costs and emissions.
Land managers in Scotland will also be able to claim actual cost up to a calculated maximum value for their soil sampling along with a payment to cover personal development. The aim of the option is to improve nutrient planning and nutrient management. This will encourage the best use of nutrients from inorganic and organic fertiliser (including slurry and farmyard manure) by matching applications to crop requirements. It should thus reduce the loss of nutrients to the environment. Additional benefits are reduced diffuse pollution, emissions, and improved carbon capture on farmland.
The introduction of the first Whole Farm Plan conditions from 2025 will require farmers and crofters to complete two baselining activities from a list of options including carbon audits, biodiversity audits, soil analysis, the creation of animal health and welfare plans or integrated pest management plans. With guidance contained in the Route Map.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- The current Farm Advisory Service contracts are scheduled to end April 2024. We have a tender out to publicly procure new contracts to commence in 2024 and end in 2027 with an option to extend until 2028.
- The next Scottish Nitrogen Balance Sheet is expected to be published during 2024.
- The Preparing for Sustainable Farming will run until 2025 and we will increase awareness of timescales for Agricultural Reform via promotions throughout 2024.
- Whole Farm Plan conditions commence in 2025.
Policy: Work with the agriculture and science sectors regarding the feasibility and development of a SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound) target for reducing Scotland’s emissions from nitrogen fertiliser.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: The current iteration of the Scottish Nitrogen Balance Sheet (SNBS) was published in May 2023. The SNBS will help to support progress towards Scotland’s national climate targets by tracking nitrogen use efficiency. In addition, it will also support a range of wider policy applications such as air quality and the promotion of efficiency in food production.
Under Preparing for Sustainable Farming, land managers in Scotland will be able to claim for their soil sampling. The aim is to improve nutrient planning and nutrient management along with a payment to cover personal development. This will encourage the best use of nutrients from inorganic and organic fertiliser by matching applications to crop requirements. It should reduce the loss of nutrients to the environment. Additional benefits are reduced diffuse pollution, emissions, and improved carbon capture on farmland.
The Scottish Government commissioned ClimateXChange (CXC) to produce a report on Target setting for nitrogen use efficiency in Scotland. The report will report on the potential for setting a NUE target for agriculture in Scotland. The CXC report will be published in 2024.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- The next Scottish Nitrogen Balance Sheet is expected to be published during 2024.
- CXC report on Target setting for nitrogen use efficiency in Scotland will be published later in 2024.
Policy: From 2018 we expect farmers to test the soil on all improved land every five or six years, and we will work with them to establish how best to achieve this.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: Under Preparing for Sustainable Farming, land managers in Scotland will be able to claim for their soil sampling along with a payment to cover personal development. The aim is to improve nutrient planning and nutrient management. This will encourage the best use of nutrients from inorganic and organic fertiliser by matching applications to crop requirements. It should reduce the loss of nutrients to the environment. Additional benefits are reduced diffuse pollution, emissions, and improved carbon capture on farmland.
The introduction of the first Whole Farm Plan conditions from 2025 will require farmers and crofters to complete two baselining activities from a list of options including carbon audits, biodiversity audits, soil analysis, the creation of animal health and welfare plans or integrated pest management plans. With guidance contained in the Route Map.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- The Preparing for Sustainable Farming will run until 2025 and we will increase awareness of timescales for Agricultural Reform via promotions throughout 2024.
- Whole Farm Plan conditions commence in 2025.
Policy: Investigate the benefits and barriers of leguminous crops in rotation.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: Several measures related to the use of legumes in the rotation are being considered as part of the Agricultural Reform Programme, including ‘Efficient/reduced use of inorganic fertilisers and lime’ and ‘Use of N fixing crops.’
The environment, food and rural affairs Strategic Research Programme 2022-2027 has two projects which continue to run and will consider legumes:
- The Impact of Novel Crops and Farming Technologies on the Scottish Agricultural Landscape.
- Crop Improvement for Sustainable production in a Changing Environment.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: The Strategic Research Programme will run until March 2027.
Policy: Crop varieties with improved nitrogen-use efficiency.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu:
The environment, food and rural affairs Strategic Research Programme 2022-2027 has two projects which continue to run and will consider this:
- The Impact of Novel Crops and Farming Technologies on the Scottish Agricultural Landscape.
- Exploring Barley Diversity for resilience and sustainability.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- The Strategic Research Programme will run until March 2027.
Outcome 4: Reduced emissions from red meat and dairy through improved emissions intensity.
Policy: Commission and publish a report into the establishment of emissions intensity figures for beef, lamb, and milk.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: Completed – August 2018 – Published ClimateXChange published “Emission intensity of Scottish agricultural commodities”.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Policy: Work with Quality Meat Scotland, ScotEID and livestock producers to encourage improved emissions intensity through genotyping, improving fertility, reducing animal mortality and improving on farm management practices.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: MyHerdStats is a free tool available to all cattle keepers in Scotland via the platform ScotEID which displays herd performance metrics for the keeper’s herd, generated using cattle traceability data. We continue to work with Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS) to explore continued funding for MyHerdStats and the development of additional functionality for the platform. Between December 2022 and January 2024, MyHerdStats experienced around 6,000 unique user visits.
An updated Route Map was published in March 2024. It included detail on the introduction of a new condition to the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS) which come into effect in 2025. The new conditions will be linked to calving interval performance, and from 2025 onwards, calves will only be eligible for a SSBSS payment if their dam has a calving interval threshold of 410 days or less. This condition is designed to help balance productivity and profitability with the opportunity to address climate impact of emissions.
The Animal Health and Welfare Livestock Strategy 2016 – 2021 review is currently delayed due to competing pressures dealing with the worst ever outbreak of avian influenza, increasing pressures to prevent the incursion of African swine fever which is circulating in nearby Europe and meeting the demands of EU exit. Subject to competing pressures we hope to publish the review in autumn 2024.
The Scottish Government is currently funding two animal health pilot projects which will help to (a) control sheep scab on Lewis and Harris and (b) a national pilot to help control Ovine Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma in the national sheep flock. Both projects aim to improve productivity and efficiency within the flock through improved biosecurity and animal health interventions.
As part of the wider preparation for the 2025 change, an animal health and welfare information leaflet has been prepared.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- Sheep Scab Pilot expected to end March 2025.
- Ovine Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma Pilot expected to end June 2025.
- We hope to publish the review on The Animal Health and Welfare Livestock strategy in autumn 2024.
- Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme New conditions will be introduced in 2025, linked to calving interval performance.
Policy: Determine the practicality of establishing a SMART target for reduction in the intensity of emissions for beef, sheep and dairy sectors.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: We are working with a cohort of beef farms to understand the impact on productivity of improved data capture technology combined with specialist advice. This will be complemented with activity under the agriculture reform programme to work with farmers in all sectors to test how farmers will respond to actions aimed at delivering positive outcomes with regard to emissions reduction.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Policy: Consult in 2018 to determine the nature of livestock health measures that the sector will adopt from 2019.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: Completed - The detailed proposals and ideas as a result continue to be considered as we work to create a new Future Support Framework under the wider Agriculture Reform Programme.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Policy: Determine the practicalities and feasibility of using livestock feed additives as a means of reducing emissions.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: Working with The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, The Northen Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and Welsh Government we undertook a call for evidence on the potential of increasing uptake of methane supressing feed additives. A summary of responses was published in October 2023.
In February 2023, the Scottish Government published its draft Agricultural Reform List of Measures outlining the intention to develop future agricultural support conditionality options, which could recognise appropriate uptake of methane suppressing feed products by farmers. We continue to work with industry to establish options for recognising use of these products and other practices which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Outcome 5: Reduced emissions from the use and storage of manure and slurry.
Policy: Engaging with farmers to explore their support requirements, establish how they can improve the use and storage of manure and slurry, including the potential for cooperatively owned and managed anaerobic digesters.
Date announced: Dec 2020, before CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: From 1 January 2024 silage and slurry stores built after 1991 (or that were substantially reconstructed or enlarged on or after 1st September 1991) and those with planning permission but not yet constructed must now be structurally compliant and all liquid digestate stores constructed before 1st January, or where planning permission was granted prior to 1st January 2022, must now meet requirements within the regulations under Silage Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil (Scotland) Regulations 2003.
The capital budget for Agriculture Transformation Fund in 2024 is £3 million plus a further £1.47 million of AECS allocation has been allocated to provide an extension of support for slurry storage across Scotland (except in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones which have previously been supported to meet regulatory requirements) and to increase the provision of irrigation lagoons. Applications for slurry stores opened February 2024.
Farmers and crofters can also access advice on improving the use and storage of slurry and silage through the Farm Advisory Service through the Scottish Environment Protection Agency Farming and Water Scotland website.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- From 1 January 2026 Silage and slurry stores built before 1991 (and not substantially enlarged or reconstructed since 1991) must be fully compliant and slurry stores located outside an NVZ must have capacity to store the total slurry likely to be produced in 26 weeks by housed pigs or 22 weeks by housed cattle by 2026.
- From 1 January 2027 all slurry application must be applied using precision equipment.
- Agricultural Transformation Fund is continuing to support capital investment and is expected to be incorporate into the new framework.
- The Enhanced Tier is due to be rolled out from 2026.
- The application window under Agricultural Transformation Fund for the 2024 round for slurry stores closed 19 April 2024.
Policy: Investigate the practicalities of livestock grazing in rotation on current arable land.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: Completed - The East/West Beed Grazing Collaboration Pilot run by SAOS was supported under the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund to work toward establishing evidence on the financial and environmental value of moving cattle to lower cost natural resources. The group produced case studies showing there are environmental and carbon sequestration benefits, especially where fodder crops are grown and grazed gradually over the winter period. The findings included significant potential fuel savings, that adopting 294 rotational grazing negates the necessity for artificial fertilisers and intensely farming the fields and that it was on the whole a low cost, low carbon system with less reliance on cereals-based diets and greater utilisation of grazing ground both in the summer and winter.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Policy: Conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of manure/ slurry exchange.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu:
Completed - Slurry Storage on Scottish Farms – A Feasibility Study
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Policy: Determine how to consistently minimise emissions from slurry storage.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: Research includes Slurry Storage on Scottish Farms – A Feasibility Study (climatexchange.org.uk) and Microsoft Word - IQ26-2019 - establishing a manure-slurry exchange in Scotland-a feasibility study - FINAL - 8 June 2020.docx (climatexchange.org.uk)
The capital budget for Agricultural Transformation Fund 2024 has been allocated to provide an extension of the provision of support for slurry storage across Scotland (except in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) which have previously been supported to meet regulatory requirements).
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Policy: Review management of storage and application of organic materials such as silage, slurry and liquid digestate, including what support may be required to ensure best practice.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: New amendments to the rules around how silage and slurry are managed and stored were introduced on 1st January 2022 with the aim of protecting the environment and helping to make better use of nutrients produced on farm. These updated the Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR) to include the Control of Pollution (Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil) (Scotland) Regulations 2003, (as amended) putting the majority of regulations about slurry and silage handling and storage into one place.
Guidance and advice is provided to farmers by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and information is available on the Farming and Water Scotland website.
The capital budget for the Agricultural Transformation (ATF) Fund 2023 was allocated to the Agri-environment Climate Scheme (AECS) in 2023 to support the extension nationally of the slurry storage options. The capital budget for ATF 2022 was equally allocated in full to the Sustainable Agriculture Capital Grant Scheme (SACGS) 2022 to provide support for low emission slurry spreading equipment and slurry store covers.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- From 1 January 2026 Silage and slurry stores built before 1991 (and not substantially enlarged or reconstructed since 1991) must be fully compliant and slurry stores located outside an NVZ must have capacity to store the total slurry likely to be produced in 26 weeks by housed pigs or 22 weeks by housed cattle by 2026.
- From 1 January 2027 all slurry application must be applied using precision equipment.
- Agricultural Transformation Fund is continuing to support capital investment and is expected to be incorporate into the new framework.
- The application window under Agricultural Transformation Fund for the 2024 round for slurry stores closed 19 April 2024.
Outcome 6: Carbon sequestration and existing carbon stores on agricultural land have helped to increase and maintain our carbon sink.
Policy: Explore with the farming and forestry sectors how best to increase planting of trees and hedgerows which optimise carbon sequestration, including the role of agroforestry.
Date announced: 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: The integration of woodlands into existing businesses is very much part of the woodland creation picture in Scotland. The Integrating Tree Network (ITN) is a joint Scottish Government and Scottish Forestry (SF) initiative that aims to support and enable farmers and crofters across Scotland to plant and manage trees on their land. The farmer led ITN brings together ten host farmers to share their knowledge and expertise through a series of online and in-person events. The ITN has hosted 32 events since March 2021 and includes a website, videos, case studies and a recent Why Trees publication which aims to showcase the many benefits of planting trees on farm.
The Tenants and Trees group continues to hold discussions involving stakeholders on how to engage tenant farmers via the Tenant Farming Advisory Forum.
Agriculture Bill - Analysis of Consultation Responses was published in June 2023, while The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament in September 2023. The Bill will be the platform for measures focused on key Scottish Government outcomes: high quality food production; climate mitigation and adaptation; nature restoration; and wider rural development. It is of a framework nature, intended to deliver our published four-tier support framework and to enable continued co-develop of detailed measures.
Scottish Government has worked with SF Trees on Farm group to revise and improve the grant support available for agroforestry, introducing four new measures to its Forestry Grant Scheme:
- Increasing the grant rate for agroforestry projects by 50% from £3,600 per hectare to £5,400 per hectare.
- Making agroforestry funding available for planting fruit, nut, and native trees.
- Allowing additional protection measures for trees, to allow cattle to graze within agroforestry projects.
- Giving farmers more opportunity to participate in agroforestry by adapting the planting thresholds.
To deliver the ambitions set out in our vision and the Future Support Framework from 2026 an Agriculture Reform Route Map was published in February 2023 and a third edition was published March 2024. The updated Route Map still outlines what information and guidance the sector can expect from 2023-2025 and when it will be available. It also sets out the proposed timescales for information and interaction with the agricultural industry.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- The Integrating Tree Network will continue to support farmers and crofters throughout 2024.
- The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill continues its progress through the Scottish Parliament.
Policy: Investigate the feasibility of payment for carbon sequestration taking into account any existing schemes such as the woodland carbon code as a means of encouraging the uptake of carbon sequestration on farms
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: The Scottish Government is providing funding for The Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS) managed by NatureScot. FIRNS is providing grants to support projects testing different aspects of natural capital market development in Scotland, including voluntary carbon markets. The scheme includes match funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the first round of FIRNs awards in September 2023 saw 27 projects awarded over £3m in total.
The 2023 Programme for Government committed the Scottish Government to the publication of a natural capital markets framework in 2024. This Framework will include actions to increase the uptake of the two existing voluntary carbon markets in Scotland – the Peatland Code and the Woodland Carbon Code – as well as actions to support the development of further high-integrity voluntary carbon markets.
The amount of validated future CO2 removals under the Woodland Carbon Code rose by 28% between 2021-22 and 2022-23. There are now over 28,000 hectares of woodland validated under the Woodland Carbon Code which will remove over 11 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere over their lifetimes. A further 36,000 hectares has been registered with the Woodland Carbon Code but not yet validated, indicating a strong future pipeline of projects.
There was no further progress with the UK Farm Soil carbon code during 2023. The Sustainable Soils Alliance will feed into the BSI Nature Market Standards programme which commenced in summer 2023 and which will produce standards for voluntary carbon markets in due course.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- Expected publication of a natural capital markets framework in 2024
Policy: Increase woodland cover on suitable agricultural land.
Date announced: CCP 2018
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu:
To deliver the ambitions set out in our vision and the Future Support Framework from 2026, an Agriculture Reform Route Map was published in February 2023 with a third edition published March 2024. The updated Route Map still outlines what information and guidance the sector can expect from 2023-2025 and when it will be available.
A trees on farms sub-group of Scottish Forestry Customer Representatives Group met in January 2024 to discuss how to strengthen integration of woodlands and agriculture, including the interaction between the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) and proposals for the elective component of future support schemes for agriculture.
Following a public consultation on the FGS in spring 2023, a series of enhancements to the scheme have been introduced. These measures relate to woodland creation, agroforestry and rainforest/caledonian pinewoods, and represent the most significant package of changes to the FGS since it was launched in 2015.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Policy: Building on the successful work integrating woodland with farming businesses, help remove barriers for those on agriculture holdings, particularly in the tenanted sector who want to engage in woodland creation, including exploring the potential to reform legislation where appropriate.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: The Tenants and Trees group continues to hold discussions involving stakeholders on how to engage tenant farmers via the Tenant Farming Advisory Forum.
The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill introduced March 2024 includes a number of measures to radically reform tenant farming legislation, to make it fit for the future. It will provide more opportunities for tenants to deliver improvements to the land they work, become more sustainable and productive, and play their part in supporting biodiversity.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: Land Reform (Scotland) Bill continues its progress through the Scottish Parliament.
Policy: Work with stakeholders on options to increase peatland restoration on suitable agricultural and crofting land, to support delivery of policies in the LULUCF chapter. We will map peatland against this land which will allow modelling options for land-use change and inform opportunities for targeted support of peatland restoration and management.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: On behalf of Scottish Ministers, Scottish Government’s Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID), manage 46 crofting estates/land holdings extending to over 95,000 hectares mainly across the Highlands and Islands and have landlord responsibility for 1,524 tenanted crofts (10% of Scotland’s total tenanted crofts).
Across the wider RPID estate we have been working to identify and determine areas and condition of peatland to identify areas of degraded peatland for restoration. We have concluded desk-based assessments on over 90% of our holdings with peatland, and work is ongoing with the remaining 10%. This has helped identify sites that would benefit from restoration activities. We are currently engaging with various crofting tenants and grazings committees with the aim of developing a practical collaborative approach between landowner, crofting tenant and Peatland Action for restoration and long-term management of peatland on croft land. This work includes exploring the reason for past and present degraded peatland and identifying different restoration options.
An RPID pilot for peatland restoration on crofting pilot has involved a baseline exercise to identify areas of degradation within the RPID land holdings. The exercise has not covered common grazings outwith RPID owned landholding.
We are considering proposals that will help make it easier for crofters to enter joint ventures with landlords and undertake projects such as carbon sequestration, habitat restoration and biodiversity enhancement. We will seek to provide clarity to the crofting sector to ensure crofters are aware of the support available for undertaking peatland restoration work and how to access it. In order to meet these commitments, the Government will consider what more can be done to address the skills shortage and provide appropriate skills and training.
New conditions will be introduced to Cross Compliance in 2025. These are new peatland and wetland standards which will be added to GAEC 6 - Maintenance of soil organic matter. These standards will prohibit a range of activities from being carried out on peatland and wetland areas and include: Ploughing and cultivation; new drainage and maintenance of existing drainage systems that causes further drying out of the peatland. As well as activities that cause damage to the vegetation cover exposing the soil
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps: N/A
Policy: Explore options for land use change to optimise uses beyond traditional farming and food production to multifaceted land use including forestry, peatland restoration and management and biomass production.
Date announced: CCPu 2020
Progress on implementation since time of last report / CCPu: Across the summer and autumn of 2023, the Scottish Government worked with the Regional Land Use Partnership (RLUP) pilots regions to gather information and evaluate progress against the criteria set out within the Bute House Agreement. They will work across their respective regions to enable natural capital-led consideration of how to maximise the contribution that our land can make to addressing the climate and environmental crises. In early 2024 work on a programme level evaluation began with Scottish Government officials working closely with the cohort of RLUPs to develop an overarching evidence base to inform the final decision making process.
Scotland’s third land use strategy was published as planned by the statutory deadline of 31 March 2021. Scotland’s fourth Land Use Strategy is due for publication in 2026 with work around its development due to start later in 2024 with a narrative around land integration.
The draft Bioenergy Policy Statement is seeking views on the potential to scale up domestic production of biomass via planting of perennial energy crops. The draft statement sets out that this must be done in a sustainable way and careful planning will be required to manage the potential synergies and trade-offs between goals for bioenergy, biodiversity, and food production.
The integration of woodlands into existing businesses (including agriculture) is very much part of the woodland creation picture in Scotland and continues to be delivered through our woodland schemes and through The Integrating Tree Network.
Have any implementation indicators / milestones been set for this policy? If so, most recent data for progress against these: N/A
Timeframe and expected next steps:
- Development work will commence later in 2024 in advance of the next Land Use Strategy due in 2026.
- During 2024 Regional Land use Partnerships will work on a programme level evaluation.
- The Integrating Tree Network will continue to support farmers and crofters throughout 2024.
Contact
Email: climate.change@gov.scot
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