Royal Highland Show celebrations overshadowed by a government failing farmers

Trade deals, tax changes, arbitrary targets - this year’s show comes amid great uncertainty for the rural sector

It is Scotland’s biggest annual event celebrating all to do with agriculture, from internationally-recognised livestock breeds to the food and drink culture of the nation.

But the sense of pride and cheers for competition winners at this year’s Royal Highland Show are set to be a little subdued given the backdrop of political uncertainty around farming and what it stands for in this country under the current governments.

The latest discussions on signing a £1.6bm trade agreement with the Gulf states have prompted widespread concern in the agricultural community about opening Britain’s doors to importing meat from countries with lower welfare standards to the UK.

Cattle are washed and scrubbed in the washing area at the back of the Highland Hall | Lisa Ferguson

Farmers have told Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer that the deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council would go against a commitment he made at the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) conference to protect high welfare standards, saying that the way most poultry is produced in Gulf states “would be illegal in the UK.” The NFU said deals must be “fair and balanced” so as to not undermine standards in Britain.

While farming groups have said there are some benefits from recent trade deals with the UK and the US, including reduced trade barriers and increase in market access, some were dismayed at the regular drumming of the “lower prices in supermarkets” narrative from the prime minister amid the handshaking. Growers and producers have said the tone makes them feel they are on a “race to the bottom” when it comes to putting food on the table.

‘Cheap food’ slogans hardly uplifting

Affordable and accessible food is a must. But the “cheap food” slogans coming from the leader of the UK is hardly uplifting for farmers working hard to feed the nation in a challenging climate - both on the ground and in politics.

Meanwhile, Scottish farmers are also feeling deeply concerned by the Climate Change Committee’s latest advice on carbon budgets to reduce Scotland’s sheep and cattle numbers by 26 per cent.

It seems a contradictory when conservation groups like Trees for Life and RSPB Scotland are “reintroducing” the cow for nature recovery projects.

Scottish minsters have regularly said farmers play a vital role in climate change mitigation. Yet they are still to confirm details of the four-tier subsidy system to replace pre-Brexit farm payments, which includes detail on funding for specific environmental projects, such as habitat management and water quality protection.

Further clarity has been delivered on tier one and two, including direct payments, but farmers are still kept in the dark on what the subsidy scheme looks like under tier three - the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS).

Detail is said to be finalised by 2028. But with the Scottish Government aiming to be "Nature Positive" by 2030, that doesn’t give farmers much time to adapt in an industry that requires serious forward planning.

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And hanging over all of the above, of course, is the ongoing impact of the UK Government’s changes to inheritance tax, otherwise known as the “family farm tax”.

It will be the first Royal Highland Show since the changes to APR and BPR were announced, a move which farming leaders said cut deep across the sector like they hadn’t seen before.

Even the Labour-majority Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (Efra) accused the UK government of poor communication and failing to properly consult on the policy that could impact vulnerable farmers.