THERE are certain historical events that loom large in the collective psyche of Scotland.
The Clearances of the late 18th century still rank high. There is no accurate record of how many Highlanders were forced off their land and shipped to North America, Australia and New Zealand by lairds and their agents.
It was essentially a ca
se of people giving way to sheep. Sir John Sinclair, widely seen as one of the great agricultural improvers, played a minor part in the Clearances. But it was he who in 1790 brought the first Cheviot sheep from the Borders to Caithness and Sutherland. Those sheep replaced people, but delivered a new prosperity to the Highlands.
The picture has now changed dramatically and there is a real danger of a second wave of Highland Clearances, though this time it will be the sheep that go first and then the people.
The Scottish Agricultural College yesterday published a report at an open day at its hill farm of Kirkton, near Crianlarich in Argyll. The title was Farming's Retreat from the Hills and it made abundantly plain the scale of the dramatic reduction in the numbers of sheep being kept in the more remote parts of Scotland.
Nigel Miller, vice-president of NFU Scotland, commented: "This report cuts through the anecdotal evidence of stock leaving the most vulnerable parts of Scotland and clearly highlights for the first time that in some areas up to 60 per cent of the sheep have left the hills.
"The root of the decline lies in the simple economics of producing lamb in these parts. Without a significant increase in the prices these hill farmers receive, then there is little incentive to run the same numbers of ewes as had been traditionally kept."
Miller went on to make it obvious that fewer sheep on hill farms will threaten the social fabric of vast areas of the Highlands. Many schools are already under threat, while shops and post offices have closed. Fewer sheep will lead to under-grazing and the hills reverting to little more than scrub that will lead to a lack of biodiversity.
Miller added: "The market place is unlikely ever to deliver a price to hill farmers that truly reflects the cost of production. The current review of the Common Agricultural Policy and the way farmers receive support also offers only limited options to address what is a fundamental change in our countryside.
"If we are genuinely committed to keeping sheep in these remote parts and enjoying the public benefits they deliver, the challenge to policy makers is clear. They need to look at ways of bolstering our Less Favoured Area Scheme – worth £61 million each year – by targeting funding at productive agriculture. There is also a need to target some of the rural development payments so they are relevant to hill farmers."
Despite the uncertainties surrounding the sheep sector, the longer-term prospects appear brighter. Many potential young farmers would love to gain access to the industry, but they will need some encouragement.
Before the May 2007 election, the SNP pledged to make £10 million available each year to new entrants. It now appears this commitment has been downgraded to just £2 million annually, much to the fury of Nanette Milne, the Scottish Tory environment spokesperson.
She said: "The response from the minister (Richard Lochhead] is now that the government will commit only £10 million over the life of the rural development programme between 2007 and 2013 – equating to less than £2 million per annum.
"Farming communities across Scotland want real help to provide a sustainable future for farming. We cannot stand by and watch the SNP try to pull the wool over the eyes of Scotland's farmers. Now is the time for the SNP to explain why it has gone back on its word."
The full article contains 649 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
