The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 4051 contributions
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 7 March 2023
Edward Mountain
I bring in Daniela Diz briefly.
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Meeting date: 7 March 2023
Edward Mountain
Thank you. Those of you who are observant will have noticed that I have not asked a question yet. I have saved my question for the end, but, interestingly, it leads directly on from the previous question, so it is perfectly placed.
Having spent 40 years of my life doing environmental management, one thing that I have learned is that you cannot be all things to all people—and you cannot be all things to all species. For example, managing capercaillies in Abernethy forest cannot be done without control of pine martens, which are the biggest threat to capercaillies, and we have spent millions of pounds on that.
Similarly, I am taken by Deborah Long’s comments about deer. It is about carrying capacity, and the capacity not being the one that damages the environment. Sheep are as big a threat in my mind, as are hares on the high montane places of Scotland, where they will clip the heather and blueberries to such an extent that they cannot grow. Therefore, management is a difficult balance.
On the basis that I do not want to make Scotland—or see Scotland being made—exclusive for any species, I think that there is room for zoning, where we accept that we can achieve things for different species in different zones and therefore achieve something for all of Scotland nationally. A quick yes-or-no answer would suffice, but I suspect that I might not get that from the witnesses. I will quickly go around the table to ask whether the witnesses believe that zoning could play a part in ensuring species and habitat enhancement across Scotland. Ruth Mitchell, I will start with you.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 1 March 2023
Edward Mountain
The question will be brief, but the answers may not be. I cannot account for those.
I share the sentiments that have been expressed. We do not want to have a complicated system of forms to fill out. That is not good for farmers or for agents. We do not want to move to a system that encourages the secondary users of our products to benefit by driving prices down for producers—the farmers.
My question is twofold. How do we stop those who use our products siphoning off funds that are meant to improve habitats and environments on farms? Do you think that the Government has left enough time to model the outcomes of what it is suggesting? What the Government did in 2015 did not achieve the stated aims. I put those questions to Andrew Moir and then to Jim Walker.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 1 March 2023
Edward Mountain
I want to follow that through. Surely it is a mixture. One side of the issue is improving the efficiency of the animals. If there are cattle, it is a matter of reducing the calving interval and the time that it takes to get the animal into the food chain, and therefore having fewer animals around.
I cannot follow your logic if you are saying that grassland that gets to a stage of being carbon neutral should be used for something else. If grassland is properly looked after, it does not become carbon neutral; it becomes able to produce and sequester carbon from the atmosphere through the use of animals that put manure back on to the ground. I do not see the circularity of your argument. It seems to be far too segmented. Perhaps you can convince me that I am wrong.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 1 March 2023
Edward Mountain
Good farmers would never stop managing the grassland properly to ensure that it does both. That is what I do not understand. You are suggesting leaving it alone. You cannot eat leaving it alone.
11:15Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 1 March 2023
Edward Mountain
With regard to the Sea Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations 2023, my concern relates to more bass being seen around the coast of Scotland as a result of the warming of the seas. They are caught regularly—they have been caught right up as far as Tongue. The Scottish Government and the UK Government propose that no more than two sea bass may be retained per fisherman per day during the open season, which runs from March to December. How will they police that?
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 1 March 2023
Edward Mountain
It seems strange to bring in a law if it cannot be enforced. Signing up to something that is unenforceable could bring discredit to the Government. I would be grateful if the committee would agree to seek guidance on that.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 1 March 2023
Edward Mountain
Although I have attended the committee and made a declaration of my interests before, considering the subject that we will discuss today, I want to make a slightly more detailed declaration of my interests so that there is no dubiety about my interest in the subject.
I am a member of a family farming partnership that employs three people full time. I have been farming in my own right for more than 40 years. I run a pedigree Simmental beef herd. I grow barley and vegetables. I farm not only land that I own, but also land that I am a tenant of. To save any dubiety, I note that I receive agricultural subsidies under the current schemes—the single farm payment scheme, the less favoured area support scheme and the beef calf scheme.
Thank you, convener. I thought that it was worth putting that on the record at the start.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 1 March 2023
Edward Mountain
Jim Walker, perhaps you could dwell on that answer and think about the fact that we are talking not just about carbon. If a farmer gets X amount per acre they will be paid only Y for their output. I am sure that you have views on that.
Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
Meeting date: 1 March 2023
Edward Mountain
Okay. Thank you, that is helpful. You and many other farmers across Scotland have used genetic breeding—line breeding—to increase the productivity of your animals, which means that farmers can get them to slaughter more quickly. The sadness is that beef cattle that are ready at 11 months cannot be sold because they are too young—they have to wait for another month before they can go into the food chain. That must be a mistake if we are trying to speed up production. Do you agree? A yes or no from Jim Walker on that would be helpful.