Farming: Optimism is the latest crop to see growth on Scottish farms

Farmers' optimism is at its highest level since the mid 1990s according to a countrywide survey published yesterday and, with the exception of the dairy sector, all parts of the industry are looking forward to the future.

Delivering this upbeat message on one of Scotland's largest industries, Professor Donald MacRae, chief economist at Lloyds Banking Group Scotland, said there was no doubt that farmers were encouraged by the increased importance and value of food in today's society.

The survey, which brought 200 responses from all sectors of farming, was carried out by the bank ;last month and early this month.

It showed increased prosperity within farming was already feeding into individual businesses, with 85 per cent of those filling in the forms stating that their businesses had been profitable in the previous 12 months.

Looking forward, more than two thirds of all respondents believed their operations would continue to be profitable in the year ahead. That figure rose to almost 90 per cent of all cereal farmers on the back of recent surges in grain values.

There were mixed messages coming out of the survey from the 23 specialist dairy farmers taking part. While they were alone in being less optimistic about the future, they reported a slight increase in their prosperity in the previous financial year.

And while they predicted an overall contraction in the Scottish dairy industry in 2011, they also stated they would be increasing their own herds by 7.5 per cent in the coming year - a higher figure for expansion than any other sector.

Farmers have always been noted for their propensity to recycle any profits back into the business and in response to a query on future investment, they seem to be intent on carrying on this tradition, with positive findings on buying new machinery and plant in the coming months.

The Lloyds survey has been going for 15 years now but this year's questionnaire is the first to try and gauge the level of farmers' interest in renewable energy.

MacRae admitted he was surprised by the scale of the positive response to wind energy, with 23 per cent of all farmers indicating they were interested in getting this technology on their farm: only 4 per cent of the responses indicated they would be working with local communities on any project.

Less surprising was the finding that 71 per cent of those interested in harnessing wind power reckoned that getting planning consent would either be "difficult" or "very difficult".This was the major obstacle to renewable energy and was far more difficult in farmers' eyes than getting the necessary finance or even a connection to the grid.

The current high level of interest in renewable energy was further shown when those surveyed listed the organisations and issues that would affect the prosperity of Scottish agriculture.

Renewable energy came in above NFU Scotland, machinery rings, farm co-operatives and diversification.

That list showed that European farm policy was still regarded as paramount. However, the much vaunted Pack report did not come out well with 30 per cent either thinking it was "poor" or "very poor."

The survey also showed the popularity of the Scottish Government slipped in the past year. Even although most respondents praised it for the early delivery of single farm payment, there was criticism in the survey for its lack of progress on any new entrant scheme.