Farm leaders have warned government that failure to pay subsidy payments on time in December will be catastrophic for livestock producers.
Both NFU Scotland and the Scottish Crofting Federation say crofters and farmers in the north of Scotland and islands are suffering as a result of heavy rainfall.
Following a visit to Caithness, NFU Scotland president Allan Bowie said: “We know Caithness and the Highlands are not alone in these difficulties. The problems being faced as a result of the ongoing poor weather were evident in the impact it has had on farms.
“There is real concern about how many will manage during the coming months with poor silage quality for some who have cut.
“We know the poor weather is affecting livestock but also crops too, and to those farmers this is of equal concern.”
He said it was crucial government did everything in its power to ensure Single Farm Payments were received by farmers on time in December.
Any delay to payments would cause further worry in an already stressful year, added Mr Bowie.
“I have asked NFU Scotland’s regional chairmen and regional managers to gain a real understanding of how bad the situation is in all of our regions and feed this into our board of directors. We will then look to take this forward and see what contingencies can be put in place and how we can relay this to the Scottish Government and other organisations,” he said.
The Scottish Crofting Federation urged crofters to keep government officials informed of any difficulties they are facing as a result of the poor weather.
The federation’s chief executive, Patrick Krause, said: “We have been in close contact with Scottish Government over the potential consequences of the slow start to the grazing season and the continued poor weather conditions.
“The minister for crofting, Dr Aileen McLeod, has personally committed to government assistance should the need arise. We don’t want to cry wolf, but there were crofters facing putting their animals away when the grass was not coming as they couldn’t continue to buy in feed. Now there is grass but silage and hay are way down and the price of feed could therefore be high in autumn.”