Harsh winter has been costly

Speaking last week at a pre-event open day at the host farm, the bank’s head of agriculture said farms were struggling to recover from the tough winter because conditions because of the late, cold spring, prompting the Scottish National Party to ask for €200 million of support from the EU emergency fund

“Market prices are higher than they have been for decades. But, for many, the harsh winter has been costly in terms of stock losses and exceptional expenditure on feed and housing.

Frustrating

“The position the Scottish sheep sector finds itself in is frustrating in the extreme because the market for lamb and breeding stock is buoyant, giving farmers a much-needed platform to capitalise on the potential returns.

“Any additional sources of income would be very welcome to those businesses affected by the winter’s bite. Ewe and lamb losses, on top of the additional winter costs, will make it very difficult for some farmers to take advantage of the markets to make a decent return.”

But given the long-term prospects for the sector, Mr Hay said he was not surprised farmers were asking for money to make much needed investment.

While the bank was ‘very supportive’ of loan applications, he warned farmers to carefully consider what might happen if lamb prices fell, consumer demand dwindled or the pound strengthened against the euro.

“All businesses are different and each farmer should look at their own performance to see if and where investment would be best employed for the greatest returns,” he said.

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