Scottish farmers are being encouraged to take a bite out of the imported apple market – worth an estimated £270 million every year in the UK – by establishing orchards on their farms.
A group of farmers, backed by the Soil Association Scotland-led Rural Innovation Support Service (RISS), is on a mission to bring commercial apple growing back to Scotland.
“The intention for the group is to grow Scottish apples for Scottish consumption, like we saw back in the 1930s and 40s before the demise of the sector,” said project facilitator Amanda Brown from agricultural co-operative organisation SAOS.
“We want to get Scottish apples to Scottish people. As well as being good for the industry, wouldn’t it be great to get kids eating nutrient-rich applies grown locally?”
Group member and apple grower Catherine Drummond-Herdman, from Megginch Castle Orchard in the Carse of Gowrie between Dundee and Perth, said the establishment of apple orchards could be a way for farmers to diversify their businesses and generate additional income.
She said: “I want the group to be there to encourage others to grow apples on a commercial scale again in Scotland.”
She said up until 15 years ago the orchard at Megginch had been heavily overgrazed with only 91 old trees left.
Since then, Ms Drummond-Herdman has set about improving the orchard and it now boasts more than 1,400 fruit rees including two national collections – one for Scottish cider apples and one for Scottish heritage apples and pears.
She said she hoped the group would enable more collaboration between growers and the establishment of Scotland-specific apple research trials and added: “Research on apple growing currently comes from the south, but apple varieties are so site-specific that if someone plants a new orchard with the wrong variety it will simply fail.
“Collaboration, not competition, and the sharing of ideas and information about different varieties is going to help everybody.
“The economies of scale work much better in a group than on your own.”