Outlook for Sheep Sector Remains Positive

Head of agriculture at Bank of Scotland, Sandy Hay, commenting on the bank’s role as main sponsor, said NSA Scotsheep was an immensely valuable event in the agriculture calendar, bringing together a host of industry representatives and showcasing the wealth of opportunities across the sector. 

“Bank of Scotland has a long-standing commitment to agriculture and the partnership reflects our desire to retain close links with the industry, enabling us to provide insight-led advice and guidance for lending,” he said.

The bank’s annual agriculture survey has returned some encouraging results and Mr Hay remains confident that the outlook for the sheep sector remains positive for 2014. Almost half of Scotland’s hill farmers reported profits exceeded drawings in 2013 and 65% were optimistic for profit in the current financial year.

“Having said that, only 8% of hill farmers said they would be profitable without the Single Farm Payment,” Mr Hay pointed out. “This dependence highlights the significance of CAP reform next year. As one of the bank’s key sectors, we want to ensure agriculture benefits from the finance it needs.” 

Further information available from Euan Emslie, Organiser, NSA Scotsheep, Tel: 01430 441870/07718 908523, E-mail: [email protected]