THE SCOTTISH Government has been asked to consider making emergency payments to support crofters and rural businesses in the Highlands and Islands, where the absence of summer weather is crippling both livestock and tourist enterprises.
The call came from the Scottish Crofting Federation, which highlighted the plight of crofters' livestock, finding no fresh grass in the fields due to the low temperatures and waterlogged ground, and their owners, obliged to keep on feeding their animals on comparitively expensive bought-in fodder.
Joyce Wilkinson, a director of the SCF and a crofter herself, said: "Those of us who live on the west coast and islands are now reaching breaking point with the extreme weather conditions.
"I know of many crofters and farmers who cannot get their cattle out due to no growth in the grass and extreme weather. Hay and straw are running out and many cannot afford to get in another load."
The SCF has written to Scottish cabinet secretary for agriculture, Richard Lochhead, bringing the situation to his attention and asking for emergency payments to be made before it is too late and animals are sent away.
Ms Wilkinson continued: "Bulls can't be put out with cows and the cows, having lost so much weight if they were out this winter, are not bulling. Grass, if any, has low sugar due to lack of sunlight, compounding the crisis by low weight gains on stores at the end of the season."
She added: "Tourism is suffering too due to the weather conditions, so there is no money coming in from that to buy the extra hay and feed necessary. Everywhere I go I see and hear of near crisis conditions.
"We brought it up with government officials and were told that the CAP 'rebate' was to be paid this week and that could be considered an emergency payment to help with the crisis," she noted.
"But the rebate is based on a percentage of the producer's claim, excluding the first £2000 - which of course means some small producers will receive very low payments, if any."
Ms Wilkinson concluded: "SCF are convinced that a real emergency payment needs to be made as soon as possible to avoid catastrophe for many small producers, who are the source of calves for the Scottish beef system, which in turn will face problems if something is not done now."
- For in-depth news and views on Scottish agriculture, see this Friday's issue of The Scottish Farmer or visit www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk
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