MEP Tries his Hand at Crofting

Mr Smith has spent the last week focussed on food and farming industries across the Highlands and will end the week by working with Crofter David Coulthard.

Speaking from the Black Isle show today (Thursday) Mr Smith said;

"On Wednesday I was working with Shirley Spears at the Three Chimneys seeing how local produce has helped to create an award winning restaurant, today I'll be meeting farmers from across the Highlands at the Black Isle show and tomorrow I'll be learning about Crofting and the unique challenges faced by crofters on a visit to Argyll.

"Crofting is going through a period of change with new crofting laws introduced by the Scottish Parliament and a review of crofting taking place.

"As a member of Europe's agriculture committee too often when we talkabout farming we talk about large scale commercial farms, not smaller holdings such as crofts.

"I want to redress some of that imbalance by finding out more about the work involved in running a croft, the pressures of life for crofters and discovering how Crofters in Scotland are affected by EU regulations that may not have taken account of their circumstances.

"I've had a fantastic and incredibly informative week this week, from selling Aberdeen Angus at the farmers market to working on the Salmon farm in Wester Ross and visiting local producers on Skye. I'm looking forward to having a great day in Argyll to end my work experience for this year."