Are stock clubs the answer to livestock decline?
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 in Dingwall.
SCF chief executive Patrick Krause said, “The stock clubs which 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 Dingwall seminar brought together a panel of experts on hill livestock and grazing management. John Gillies of Raasay spoke on the practical running of stock clubs on the island; Gwyn Jones of the European Forum on Nature Conservation and Pastoralism summarised his recently published report Trends in Common Grazing; Archie MacNab of the Crofters Commission outlined the status of stock clubs within crofting law and grazings regulations; and SCF project worker Alan Boulton described the measures available within the Scottish Rural Development Programmewhich could benefit crofters’ common grazings.
“We have now seen no fewer than four reports, all commissioned by the Scottish Government or its agencies, on the decline of hill livestock. These are unanimous in their view of the social, economic and environmental consequences – the loss of a culture and a set of skills as well as of valued habitats and landscapes. We are now in need of solutions. The proposals of the Pack Inquiry for a lamb headage payment are welcome, but some support for establishing and maintaining stock clubs will undoubtedly help to retain, and even reintroduce, stock on the hills,” concluded Mr. Krause.
The final report on the Taking Stock survey will be published in the autumn.