Scotland

The Living Lab

Scotland provides a unique example of a country where the Government has committed almost two million Euro to advance gender equality in agriculture. This effort is in response to documented gaps in rural earnings for women. According to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2022, women in remote rural areas had the lowest annual median pay across Scotland and the largest gap between men and women in annual median wages. Following the publication of the Women in Agriculture Taskforce: final report in November 2019, Scottish Government committed funding to deliver solutions to implement change for women in agriculture with programmes to address gender blindness in mainstream organisations and training for women on how to recognise their skills.

The Scottish Government’s Women in Agriculture Development Programme currently supports a range of programmes, including personal development courses, app and web platforms for land-based skills training, funding for practical training and leadership and business skills courses. These programmes both fund and are further supported by a range of enterprise, business and crofting support services.

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Meet our women innovators

Beth Rose

Farmer

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Beth Rose
Crofter

Birchwood Croft is based in Strathnairn, nestled on the north facing foothills of the Monadh Liath. It is run by Tim and Beth Rose, along with their two mini-crofters. We have a small herd of cattle, sheep, hens, sometimes pigs, an apiary, a veg and soft fruit garden, a polytunnel, and an orchard. Established in 2011, we are striving to work with our unique natural and environmental surroundings to create as much of our own produce as we can but also to allow others to enjoy locally grown produce (beef, pork, honey, eggs, jellies, jams, chutneys) which is sold directly to our customers.

Haley Shepherd

Farmer

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Haley Shepherd
Farmer

At Seeds of Scotland we are growing vegetable, herb and flower seeds in Scotland using agroecological farming practices. We are particularly interested in growing Scottish heritage varieties as well as varieties that will grow well in the Scottish climate. We strive to pay respect to the historical and cultural significance of each seed we sow and the stories they tell.

Jennifer Hart

Farmer

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Jennifer Hart
Farmer

We took over an overgrown, unused croft 2 years ago and are slowly starting to manage the land and develop it for self-sustainability and producing a small excess supply for our local community.
We raise goats for meat and rear weaner pigs for half the year. We produce eggs and sell them locally. Next year we plan to transform the vegetable field into an organic and permaculture-oriented cultivation area.

Aoife Gould

Farmer

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Aoife Gould
Farmer

Dun Flashadder Cottage Croft is a sustainable croft based on the Isle of Skye. We have a flock of around 100 Hebridean sheep, and the stewardship of a soft fruit orchard. We raise the sheep to finishing (around 18 months old) and sell meat boxes to both individuals and chefs on the island.
We use the wool from our sheep, which would otherwise be essentially worthless, to produce felted products. These include full felted rugs, tea cosies, bird nesting pods and other homewares. These are not only beautiful and functional items, but are also an important carbon sequestration tool, as wool is 50 % carbon, and this is stored for the life of the product.

Rhionna Mackay

Entrepreneur

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Rhionna Mackay
Entrepreneur

Adventure activities company based in Brora, covering East & Central Sutherland (and wider). We mainly deliver water-based activities and equipment hire and are building up our walking trips and cycle tour options.

Moira Macdonald

Entrepreneur

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Moira Macdonald
Entrepreneur

My idea is to form a childcare cooperative or some form of childcare provision for those who are living and working in crofting and agriculture. This could look like before and after-school care, after-school clubs, monthly group meet ups.
This is an area that as a whole is lacking. Parents and carers are really struggling for suitable and affordable childcare. The crofting community is very unique in that the living area can be extremely rural, resulting in limited or non-existent childcare options, leaving parents in very hard and stressful situations.

Jenny Grant

Farmer

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Jenny Grant
Farmer

Croft on Loch Broom near Ullapool on the west coast of Scotland. It has a diverse mosaic of Highland habitats and aims to produce local wildflower seeds, deciduous trees and fruit and vegetables while being a place of learning about crofting, wildlife and ecology for people who might not normally have the opportunity or space in their lives to experience such a place.

Karis Beattie

Farmer

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Karis Beattie
Farmer

A small-scale croft (4 acres + common grazing share 2 acres in-byre, 2 acres outrun fenced rough grazing) with a small flock of sheep (currently mixed but breeding towards Scottish Blackface), a polycrub producing vegetables (including local potato—Lewis black) for home consumption with surplus circulated to neighbours and wider village and areas of mixed native trees and shelter belts. My aim is to encourage others into crofting, with the model of managing the croft alongside other employment as has been traditionally done. I am also involved in matters threatening crofting such as depopulation, and engaging with stakeholders such as the council, community landowner and housing association, on ways to tackle the centralisation of services to the urban centre of Stornoway, and ensure rural areas continue to be viable for future generations.