John Lamont puts focus on farming innovation on SW Scotland visit
Scotland Office Minister sees how 拢21 million UK Gov investment will benefit Digital Dairy Chain at Scotland's Rural College and meets team at Monitor Farm
Minister Lamont visits the SRUC Barony campus near Dumfries
Scotland Office Minister John Lamont has been visiting parts of Dumfries and Galloway looking at how digital innovation funded by more than 拢21 million of UK Government investment is helping to grow the rural economy.
Minister Lamont took a tour of Scotland鈥檚 Rural College (SRUC) Barony Campus near Dumfries to understand how the cash boost from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is supporting the milk industry by bolstering the Digital Dairy Chain.
He also called in at nearby Barnbackle Farm, part of Quality Meat Scotland鈥檚 Monitor Farm Initiative, and one of nine farms involved in a four-year programme to improve sector productivity, profitability and sustainability.
Minister Lamont said:聽
The UK Government is proud to support the聽United Kingdom鈥檚 拢127billion food and farming sector as we recognise that British farmers produce聽some of the highest-quality food in the world and contribute billions to our economy.
Driving forward new farming schemes like the Digital Dairy Chain is exactly where we need to be to ensure the sector remains profitable and sustainable. It鈥檚 vital as we build on the commitment to keep producing 60 per cent of the food we consume here in the UK.
SRUC's Prof John Newbold shows Minister Lamont the facilities at the Barony Campus
Investment from UKRI鈥檚 Strength in Places Fund has been ploughed into SRUC to examine how dairy farmers can best capitalise on the 1.9billion litres of milk produced in the area. The Digital Dairy Chain will provide world-class opportunities for research and business innovation in advanced, sustainable, high-value dairy processing.
The five-year project will deliver advanced manufacturing processes to help businesses to develop new products and explore new markets. It鈥檚 hoped to create more than 600 new jobs while contributing 拢60million to the local economy by聽attracting large dairy processors, boosting industry-focused research.
Minister Lamont added:
This UK Government investment will really put the area on the world map as a leader in聽advanced, sustainable, and digitally-connected dairy manufacturing.
It will offer farmers, processors and producers in the dairy supply chain a valuable resource for support, business development and industry expertise to take the sector from strength to strength and increase the opportunity for growth.
Professor Wayne Powell, Principal and Chief Executive of Scotland鈥檚 Rural College (SRUC) said:
We were delighted to welcome Mr Lamont to tell him more about the innovative work of the Digital Dairy Chain. Led by SRUC, this hugely exciting project is an excellent example of an innovation cluster, focused on developing digital connectivity, stimulating research, new high-value product development, supporting business growth and attracting talent and skills across South & West Scotland and Cumbria.
We will soon open the second round of the collaborative R&D funding competition with a pot of 拢1 million, which is an outstanding opportunity for industry and academia to unite and continue to transform the dairy sector.鈥澛�
Minister Lamont with father and son Andrew and Richard McCornick, who run Barnbackle Farm, one of Quality Meat Scotland's Monitor Farms
At Quality Meat Scotland鈥檚 monitor farm Barnbackle, Minister Lamont heard from the family who run the 500-acre site - Richard聽McCornick and his partner Hayley Currie, and Richard鈥檚 parents, Andrew and Janice McCornick.
With 150 suckler cows, 20 store cattle, and 700 ewes, the family face challenges common to many farmers, including rising feed prices. Looking at solutions including rotational grazing is something the Monitor Farm Programme will support.
Beth Alexander, Monitor Farm Scotland Programme Manager said:
We were delighted to welcome Minister Lamont to the Dumfriesshire Monitor Farm and showcase the work we are doing on one of the nine farms in the programme with rotational grazing, sheep management strategies, and upcoming projects like the 2024 lambing initiative in collaboration with the local vet practice.
The Monitor Farm programme is farmer-led, farmer-driven and aims to enhance the profitability, productivity, and sustainability of Scotland鈥檚 agricultural sector. Through practical demonstrations and the exchange of best practices, we use farmer expertise to progress the industry and address challenges. This visit presents an excellent opportunity for farmers to engage directly with government and share their issues.