A NATIONAL council has been set up to provide advice on the implications of leaving the EU for farming and other parts of the rural economy.

The National Council of Rural Advisers was announced by Rural Secretary Fergus Ewing and will have a remit covering all aspects of future rural development, including financial support beyond 2022.

It comes as the union representing farmers and crofters unveils its blueprint to force agriculture onto the Brexit agenda in the weeks and months ahead.

NFU Scotland unveiled its plans which it said would document be "the stimulus for discussion and debate with members at almost 30 agricultural shows this summer; a focus for the Tory Party Conference and the Union’s autumn conference in October".

The union said: "Recognising that exiting Europe presents the challenge of unpicking more than 40 years of operating within the Common Agricultural Policy, the Union’s vision for the next decade is to capitalise on new market opportunities coupled with a new domestic agricultural policy that will move our farmers and crofters to a position where market returns are the primary driver of profitability."

Lorne Crerar, chair of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and Alison Milne, a consultant who currently represents the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association on agricultural policy, have been chosen to co-chair the national group.

Mr Ewing said: "I want to drive the rural economy forward and that is why I am announcing the establishment of a national council, bringing together key experts, including the agriculture champions, to look at the future of the sector and provide me with recommendations early next year.

"While it will be for the national council to set up work stream groups as needed to focus on specific issues, I would anticipate themes such as affordability, sustainability, productivity, inclusion and innovation - and of course the wider implications of the UK's decision to leave the EU - to feature prominently.

"I am confident the national council can become an engine of expertise that helps to set a strategic framework for future policy development and I look forward to working with all parties towards our shared goal of creating a sustainable rural economy."