STOCK CLUBS COULD BE ANSWER TO DECLINE OF HILL LIVESTOCK

Crofters’ stock clubs could be an answer to the loss of livestock, especially sheep, from the hills and moors of the Highlands and Islands. The Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) has carried out a survey, Taking Stock, of stock clubs in Skye and east Sutherland and the findings were presented at a seminar held last week in Dingwall. SCF chief executive Patrick Krause said, “The stock clubs that responded to the survey are overwhelmingly optimistic about their future. Some of them have been in existence for almost a century, handing down skills and knowledge through the generations. They are producing hardy, healthy stock that is in strong demand in the sale ring, and are doing so with minimal inputs, which is surely what we should be looking for in a future low-carbon economy. The stock clubs have a number of different constitutional set-ups, so that the model is adaptable to the circumstances of individual crofting townships or areas.” The