‘A POSITIVE meeting’ was how Scotland’s farming union leader described his first formal encounter with Fergus Ewing.
The recently appointed Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity met last week with NFU Scotland officials, after which union president Allan Bowie said: ‘His appointment comes at a challenging time for the industry. Markets across every sector mean that we have seen farm incomes fall three years in a row and the huge problems encountered by the Scottish Government in delivering new CAP support created massive problems for Scotland’s rural economy.
‘There is much unfinished business to be done. We want outstanding support payments delivered to farmers and crofters before the payment window closes in June. And we are looking to the cabinet secretary and his team to ensure we learn from the mistakes that have been made so that they are not repeated. It is important that a clear timetable for future sup port payment delivery is set and adhered to.