Programme | Arable Scotland

Arable Scotland 2024

Main sponsors

The programme for the 2024 Arable Scotland event will be regularly updated with details of event activities as they are confirmed.

8am					Press breakfast
9am					Official welcome from David Webster, Chief Executive of LEAF UK
9.15 – 10.15am					Workshops (see below)
10.30 – 11.15am					Arable Conversation ‘Which practices will create resilience in Scottish arable farming?’
11.30am – 12.30pm					Seminars (see below)
1 – 2pm					Workshops (see below)
2.30 – 3.15pm					Arable Conversation ‘Exploring the markets in Natural Capital’
3.30 – 5pm					Optional tour of the Centre for Sustainable Cropping at Balruddery Farm
5pm					Event close

Plots, exhibits and working demonstrations of machinery, new practices and products will be exhibited throughout the day by representatives from industry and research.
A series of short workshops will be conducted in the morning and again in the afternoon focussing on:
Soil quality assessment: Emma Willis (AHDB Environmental Specialist)
Maximising the benefits of integrated management practices: Prof Fiona Burnett (SRUC) and Dr Neal Evans (Voluntary Initiative)
Crop assessment in research trials: Dr Sebastian Raubach (James Hutton Institute)

Seminars will highlight novel research and findings on:
Novel and minor crops – their potential in Scotland: Prof Derek Stewart (James Hutton Institute)
Making soils resilient to extreme weather: Dr Kenneth Loades (James Hutton Institute)
The BARiTONE Barley Industrial Training Network: Prof Robbie Waugh (Director of the International Barley Hub), accompanied by poster presentations by BARiTONE PhD students

Arable Conversations

Which practices will create resilience in Scottish arable farming? (10.30 am)

Extreme weather conditions have continued to impact on the arable sector. What can farmers do to cope with excessive rain, drought and unpredictable temperatures to increase on farm resilience? Chaired by Elizabeth Massie, who farms in East Lothian, and with a panel representing farmers and agronomists, this conversation will discuss soil and crop management practices that are starting to show benefits for coping with weather extremes and associated changes in pests and diseases.

			Exploring the markets in Natural Capital (2.30 pm)
			Agriculture depends on nature – healthy soils, clean air and water, microbes, plant and animal life. The value of natural capital is, increasingly, being understood in the agricultural sector. To realise this value, however, it must be measured and monitored. Which methods can be used by farmers to quantify natural capital on their land? And how will they be rewarded for preserving and improving this natural capital? Chaired by Clive Mitchell (Nature Scot), this conversation explores the challenges and benefits of natural capital markets from the perspectives of farmers (SAC Consulting), advisers (Nature Scot), researchers (James Hutton Limited), and policy (Scottish Government), and aims to foresee how these markets might operate in the future.