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From The Wellies
by Sandy Thomson
of Westpark Farm, by Aberfeldy
East Central Region of the NFU Scotland, of which Highland Perthshire branch is a part of, did itself proud with a mouth watering array of food served at the AGM meeting on the 18th of February 2010 in St. Andrews.
The menu consisted of a started of carpaccio of beef supplied by ABP of Perth, followed by smoked salmon supplied by Dunkeld Smoke House. The next course was a palate cleansing blueberry sorbet, made from blueberries which were supplied by the McDairmid family from Mains of Murthly.
The main course was a Loin of Highland Glen Lamb, which everyone enjoyed followed by a desert of mixed Angus fruit crumble with Nelsons ice cream and, for those still with room ,coffee with local tablet, fudge and mini shortbreads and then - believe it or not - a fantastic cheese board!
This was a departure from the normal vegetable soup, beef and pudding menu, but such was the depth and variety of local produce offered that a five or six course meal was easily available.
The lunches and breakfasts served to the delegates during the two day stay at the AGM were also reported to be of the highest quality.
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The AGM business is conducted over two days and is attended by delegates from all over Scotland, representing every sector of the industry.
One topic seemed to dominate this year, namely the upcoming reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The present system for paying the Single Farm Payment (SFP), is based on historic activity which took place on farms between the base years of 2000/2002. Retired Aberdeen and Northern Marts chief executive, Bryan Pack, and a small team of industry experts, have been given the task of coming up with proposals for a new way of delivering support payments.
At the moment an area payment with various top up funds for specific out comes looks to be the favourite. Road show meetings have been held around the country with heated debates and each sector vying for its share of the pot.
Unsupported sectors, such as deer farming and fruit and vegetables, are also staking their claim to a share of the support pot.
These sectors however are supported in England as they decided to go down the route of flat rate payments/hectare.
The final Pack report is due to be published in June, but may only be a starting point for discussions which will then head to Europe.
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One encouraging piece of news to come from the AGM was that delegates debated agricultural training and in an informal vote nearly 50% voted to back a training levy to recruit new workers into the industry.
This was then backed up by cabinet secretary for agriculture, Richard Lochead announcing a £1.4 million support package for a new Agricultural Apprenticeship Scheme.
Anyone considering starting a new career in agriculture shouldn’t be put off by the recent spell of arctic weather, I’m sure global warming and long hot summers are just a few short weeks away!
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