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.

Island farmers and crofters deeply impacted by Scottish ferry crisis

Calmac ferry at sea
Concerns have been raised over ferry delays and cancellations. Image: NFU Scotland

The farmers’ union says unreliable ferry services to island communities are having a serious impact on the farmers and crofters who rely on them.

NFU Scotland (NFUS) reports issues for producers and haulers who have been unable to secure bookings, even months in advance, to transport livestock on or off the islands, and warns that the number of situations in which small livestock trailers are being refused passage are increasing.

It is currently gathering evidence and case studies across all island communities to find out how much of an impact poor ferry services have had on those who are farming.

Many of our members in island communities are being let down on a weekly, if not daily, basis by ferry services…”

The union’s rural business policy advisor, Rhianna Montgomery warned of the implications for animal welfare and additional costs for those hauling stock.

She said: “Many of our members in island communities are being let down on a weekly, if not daily basis by ferry services that are not fit for purpose. As a result, economic growth is suffering.

Unreliable ferries harming farms and wider island communities

“For farms and crofts, a reliable, resilient ferry service is required for access to markets and to receive essential deliveries for farm businesses such as feeding, fuel or contractors coming on to the islands. Many of our members have also diversified into agri-tourism and are suffering a double whammy from the decline in the service.

“Cancelled sailings, vessel breakdowns, lack of tonnage along with the inability to secure a ferry booking are increasingly becoming the norm and are causing negative financial impacts and frustration within the farming and crofting sector.

“This has a knock-on effect to the wider community and could ultimately result in depopulation of these fragile communities.”

The union is calling on Transport Scotland to invest significant resources to improve lifeline services to ensure the economic viability of these island businesses and communities.

It is also calling on the Scottish Government to improve the fleet or invest in fixed links for the viability of Scotland’s remote island communities and rural businesses.

Plans are also underway for NFUS to work with other impacted sectors early in 2023 to highlight concerns directly with Transport Scotland, and the Scottish Government to underline fleet resilience and the impacts of the inadequacies in the current service.

Conversation