Royal Highland Show proves a valuable few days for Dourie and Scotland's farming sector

The Royal Highland Show is always one of the busiest weeks in the farming calendar, and this year's event was no exception. It provided an excellent opportunity to meet with politicians, industry leaders and fellow farmers, while discussing many of the issues currently affecting Scottish agriculture.

I spent Thursday and Friday at the Show, with much of my time based on the SAOS stand alongside colleagues from Scottish EID, FIA and the wider SAOS team. The stand was busy throughout, with members, stakeholders and industry representatives dropping in all day.

One of the highlights was meeting Scotland's Minister for Agriculture, Jim Fairlie. Tim Bailey, SAOS CEO, and I had a productive discussion about the importance of co-operation and how greater support could be made available to co-operatives. We talked about ensuring that funding opportunities available to individual businesses are equally accessible to co-operative organisations, helping them invest and deliver benefits for their members.

We also had an excellent meeting with the new Chair and Chief Executive of AHDB. I was particularly impressed by the Chair's enthusiasm for collaboration between organisations. We discussed how better sharing and use of data across the industry could help build a stronger competitive edge for farmers while avoiding duplication of effort.

Another valuable meeting was with Kirsty McNeill MP. As someone who understands the value of co-operatives, she was keen to hear our views on strengthening relationships between SAOS, DEFRA and the wider agricultural sector. Building closer links between Scotland and England will only benefit farmers on both sides of the border.

Alongside those meetings, I also spent time with Richard Thompson, the Groceries Code Adjudicator, discussing both the dairy and pig sectors. Conversations with NFU Scotland's Milk Committee focused on fairness within milk contracts and the challenges facing producers, while separate discussions looked at the significant pricing disparities affecting Scottish pig producers.

One thing that really stood out throughout the Show was the respect that SAOS commands across Scottish agriculture. The organisation continues to deliver valuable work across every sector it supports, from Scottish EID through to FIA and many other initiatives, and that reputation was clear over the two days.

Of course, the Royal Highland Show isn't all meetings. Thursday evening saw another successful SAOS drinks reception, which attracted an excellent turnout. Minister Jim Fairlie joined us for around 20 minutes, giving us valuable additional time for discussion. The food was outstanding, thanks to Jenn's (Jenn Thompson, SAOS Communications & PR Manager) and I suspect more than a few people were drawn in by its growing reputation!

Perhaps my only mistake was deciding not to head back to the hotel afterwards. Instead, I found myself catching up with old friends in the Members' Pavilion before eventually wandering the cattle lines with Charlie Russell at around midnight, enthusiastically discussing Dairy Shorthorns with exhibitors. How much of that information either of us remembered the following morning is open to debate.

The Members' Pavilion remains one of my favourite parts of the Royal Highland Show. It's one of the few occasions each year when friends from every corner of Scotland's farming community come together. Looking across the lawn and seeing familiar faces from Dumfries and Galloway, Wigtownshire, Aberdeenshire and beyond reminds you just how special our industry really is.