News from the field

Image courtesy of ORganic Rapeseed oil

Rural Britain is a wonderful assortment of farms, estates, hamlets, villages, forests and moors, lochs and valleys. Our stunning scenery, close communities and wonderful rural businesses provide an idyllic lifestyle for many, but rural life can also throw up some pretty unique challenges.

The Rural Scene (the Scene & Herd rural blog and news updates) looks at what’s new, what’s relevant, what’s tasty, what’s fun and what’s challenging about life in the Great British Countryside. We offer an insider insight into rural Britain, highlighting some of the exceptional people, businesses and innovations we believe that everybody should know about.

OnFARM Podcast: Helping It Happen from SLE - celebrating rural champions

The Helping It Happen awards from Scottish Land and Estates are now open to nominations - with a deadline of 18th July 2022. The awards recognise the role of estates, farms, rural businesses and individuals in helping rural Scotland to thrive - whether that's through providing affordable rural housing, supporting local businesses, or working with schools to support rural skills.

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Arable Farm Of The Year Embracing Precision Tech

Preston Hall Farms, the 2021 AgriScot Scottish Arable Farm of the Year award, is set to benefit from a bespoke precision farming package as an award prize. Preston Hall Farms consists of four arable units around the village of Pathhead in the gently rolling Midlothian countryside 15 miles south of Edinburgh. The farms are predominantly under a combinable crops rotation consisting of 520Ha, however areas of permanent and rotational grass are utilised by neighbouring livestock farmers. Cover crops are also established, and grazed when circumstances allow, as part of a commitment to building soil fertility.

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May 2022

Hello! We hope this finds you well and enjoying some good weather. Rain or shine, the Scene & Herd team are all outdoor enthusiasts and share their tips on making the most of your time out of doors: Anna likes to pack a backpack with a picnic blanket (we love these recycled wool blankets), some local produce and a pair of binoculars.‍Monty suggests combining a work phone call with a walk in the fresh air. The Scene & Herd team are always happy to arrange walking meetings to discuss any aspect of marketing or PR for your rural business. Sarah is a fan of Slow Ways, an initiative to create a national network of walking routes connecting all of Great Britain’s towns and cities as well as thousands of villages.

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OnFARM Podcast: Go Rural from Glasgow

Our latest 'Days Out On Your Doorstep', takes in farm visitor experiences within easy reach of Glasgow, with Go Rural Scotland. Go Rural encourage people in Scotland’s towns and cities to get out into nearby countryside for farm experiences, short breaks, and food and drink days out. This time, Leeanne Coyle visits Kilmacolm Farm Tours, the Round House at Craigmaddie Muir, Errington Cheese, and Forth's Wee Farm Distillery. These attractions and many more can be found at goruralscotland.com

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Caledonian Auction Raises Over £70k for Ukraine

The auction, held simultaneously online and live at the Caledonian Mart, included a host of exciting unique and exciting lots donated by businesses and individuals from throughout Scotland. Lots on offer included everything from livestock to holidays, machinery to memorabilia.“We were delighted with the support our auction received,” commented John Kyle, MD of Caledonian Marts Ltd.“When all was toted up, from sales and generous donations, we have a fantastic total of £70,064 to donate to UNICEF and via the Central Plains Group in Ukraine.”

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