The 12th annual Scottish Smallholder Festival took place on Saturday 14th October with hundreds of visitors coming through the doors to help celebrate the best of Scotland’s livestock, food and craft produced by smallholders across the country.
Central to the day’s events was the judging of the sheep, goat and pig classes, and the crowning of the RBST Scottish National Championship winner – the best rare breed on show. The Playfair family from the Borders walked away with the trophy for their Norfolk Horn ewe, with the reserve champion a Berkshire sow from Isabel Soar.
Fun for all the family
Smallholders, their families and other visitors enjoyed a fantastic equine display, including police horses Nairn and Lockerbie from the Mounted Unit – other highlights included the very popular pig agility course, and a full schedule of talks and demonstrations.
Crafts and rural skills on show included apple pressing, sourdough bread making, willow weaving and cookery.
Chair of Smallholding Scotland, Martin Beard, said: “When it was announced that Forfar Mart would indeed be closing we had to act fast to secure the alternative location, which we managed to do with the fantastic support of the Scottish Government and our great sponsors. We have always felt that the festival needed to be a national event, and that it should be an important part of the agricultural calendar in Scotland, and a central, accessible venue is key to that. So we were delighted to secure a place at the national agricultural showground.
“We now believe that we were right to take the leap, and clearly so do the many hundreds of competitors, demonstrators, companies and visitors who came along and supported us. The Smallholders Festival has always been a very friendly place to be and most of all I am delighted that we have not lost that; the greatest enjoyment is seeing friends old and new meeting and sharing their love of rural life.
“Without doubt we can build on this year’s success and so we look forward to seeing everyone again next year on the 19th October at the Royal Highland Centre!”
The Scottish Smallholder Festival is Scotland’s national smallholding show, offering smallholders, small producers, growers and everyone interested in a sustainable way of life the opportunity to visit, share, learn, show, buy and be inspired.
Described as ‘a celebration of the smallholder’, the central concept is to provide an event for smallholders and growers at the end of the season to celebrate a successful year of production, to gather ideas for next year, and to provide an opportunity for all to display their products and benchmark their success against other small producers.
The event aims to provide a showcase for smallholders and small-scale producers, allowing end-users to see what can be achieved in a small-scale farming environment. It also aims to create an opportunity for those who are interested in rural life and farming to get a close-up view of small-scale farming, introducing them to skills and livestock they would not normally encounter.
Main image: RBST Scottish National Championship winner – the Norfolk Horn ewe: Ryan Perry (Sheep Judge), Ron Fieldhouse (Pig Judge), Alex Playfair (owner), Agnes Aitken (Goat Steward), Steve McMinn (Chair of RBST Scotland)
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