WE HAVE a story to be told and it is up to us to start telling it – that was the overarching message which came out of the lively Question Time style discussion hosted by NFUS Argyll and the Islands in Tarbert last Friday.

A solid turnout at the local Tarbert bowling club saw farmers put their questions surrounding Brexit and future support schemes to the four-person panel, which gave way to a lively debate.

Concerns were raised in the audience regarding the price of Scottish Lamb and the dwindling market demand. Panellist and Agricultural Champion Marion McCormack stressed the importance of better marketing of Scottish lamb, addressing the large contingent of sheep farmers in the audience.

“Interest in Scottish food is big, people care about provenance and the story farmers have to tell. Despite this we are experiencing difficulties in the sheep market as we haven’t managed to sell the story of Scotch lamb to consumers," said Ms McCormack.

“Self-interest needs to be put to the side and we need to sell the story behind Scotch lamb in a much better way if want to improve the market demand for lamb.

“There is an appetite for Scottish, worldwide, which is reflected in our tourism figures which are up 25% since last year. People are coming here to see what we have to offer, and they like how this part of the world farms and what it looks like,” concluded Ms McCormack.

NFUS president Andrew McCornick, also amongst the panellists, commented on the great story Argyll and the Islands have to tell on provenance, but also in terms of the environment, defending the criticism farmers so often face in this area: “Argyll and the Islands have a great story to tell in terms of the environment and they need to let people know what they are doing for climate change. It is down to us to lobby politicians to get the message out there.

“If we push politics to the side for a minute, we want farming to be profitable, but it also needs to be sustainable. We need to be rewarded for delivering environmental goods. Michael Gove himself stated – 'public money for public goods' – and we are certainly delivering on public goods, we deliver public value but don’t get rewarded for it. The tourism industry benefit from the scenery which we are maintaining,” stressed Mr McCornick.