The Deveron, Bogie & Isla Rivers Charitable Trust and partners are developing a new farmer cluster in the King Edward Burn catchment in north Aberdeenshire near Banff. Following on from a successful farmer cluster workshop held in Turriff in February, the project will bring farmers together to share knowledge, access advice and funding opportunities, and take practical steps to build more resilient and sustainable farms.
For 25 years, the Deveron Rivers Trust has worked to monitor and restore rivers across Aberdeenshire and Morayshire. The new farmer cluster recognises that challenges such as flooding, water quality, soil health, climate change and nature loss extend beyond individual farm boundaries and are best tackled by working together across river catchments.
The Trust is working with organisations including the GWCT, NFU Scotland and the Atlantic Salmon Trust to provide farmers with practical support.
Ross Macleod, GWCT’s Head of Policy in Scotland says: “This marks the culmination of really positive discussions between the Deveron Rivers Trust, the Atlantic Salmon Trust and GWCT to forge a catchment and farmer cluster collaboration. The workshop that brought the key partners together was made possible by the support of the Fishmongers’ Company’s Fisheries Charitable Trust. Guest speakers at the event included Georgia Watson from NFU Scotland; Wendy Kenyon from the Atlantic Salmon Trust; Teresa Dent, who spoke about the development of the Environmental Farmers Group in England; and Jim Cruickshank, Chair of the Deveron, Bogie and Isla Rivers Trust.
“On the back of the tremendous example set by the Deveron partners, GWCT aims to repeat this work on other catchments across Scotland.”
Farmers joining the cluster can benefit from:
- Tailored advice from Agri-Environment Farm Adviser Rosa Holt on soil health, cover crops, water management, riverbank erosion and integrating trees on farms.
- Biodiversity audits to help farmers understand the nature already present on their farms and prepare for Scottish Government Whole Farm Plan requirements.
- Access to funding opportunities to help support practical improvements on farm.
- Farmer-to-farmer learning, sharing ideas, experience and practical solutions that can strengthen farm businesses.
- Expert advice and training on invasive species control, including giant hogweed, through the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative.
Rosa Holt, the Deveron Rivers Trust Agri-Environment Adviser, has been working with farming contacts in the King Edward Burn catchment already, and has had lots of positive feedback. Farmers in the catchment who would like to find out more are encouraged to contact Rosa by email at rosaholt@deveron.org or phone on 01466 711 388.