Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Storm clear up under way as farmers count the cost of damage

Snow and power cuts have hampered the efforts to get back to normal

The full scale and cost of the damage caused by Storm Arwen is still being uncovered on Scotland’s farms, but estimates already run into many millions of pounds.

The industry’s main insurer, NFU Mutual, reports that by Saturday morning it  had received hundreds of calls as the storm blew away whole roofs and polytunnels,   and steading walls, cladding and other structures were severely damaged.

One Scottish farmer has estimated damage valued at £70,000, and on another farm an acre of Sitka Spruce has been blown down.

Damage by Storm Arwen is expected to run into millions of pounds.

The insurer insisted their priority was to provide immediate practical assistance to customers and a  team of regional loss adjusters is already on farms inspecting the worst structural damage.

NFU Mutual’s property claims manager, Jon Bird said: “Our emergency response has been in force since Friday so that we continue to get to farmers and homeowners quickly through our 300-strong network of agents in towns and villages across the UK.

“This means we can make emergency payments as quickly as possible, arrange accommodation and get properties surveyed and repairs started.”

The clear up operation has started on farms.

Farmers’ union president, Martin Kennedy said he knew the severity of the storm from personal experience.

He said: “There will have been hundreds of trees blown down on our own estate near Aberfeldy and Sunday was spent helping clear roads and driveways to allow people access to and from their homes and get services into the area to reconnect electricity and telephone services.

“As we gather reports from our members up and down the country, the damage to many businesses has been extensive and that farmers’ role in the clear up operation for local towns and villages has been hampered by heavy snow in places.

“Much of the damage will have been insurable.”

Meanwhile, as  many parts of the country remain without power, internet service and phones, Mr Kennedy appealed to farmers to check on neighbours to see if they need assistance.

Localised snow and treacherous conditions have added to the problems caused by the storm.

He added: ” The added complication of lower temperatures, localised snow and power cuts has made conditions treacherous for those affected.”

The union’s rural crime event, scheduled to take place at Gray Farms, Portsoy, on Wednesday has been rescheduled until early in 2022.

Scotland’s rural charity, RSABI has reminded the industry that they are there to help.

The helpline number, which operates from 7am to 11pm, is  0300 111 4166.