Agriculture in the Inner Hebrides

Abstract

SynopsisThe Inner Hebrides consist of a long chain of islands varying greatly in topography and extending from Skye in the North to Islay off the southern coast of Argyll. The group includes the islands of Raasay, South Rona, Soay. Scalpay, Pabay, Canna, Rhum, Eigg, Muck, Coll, Tiree, Colonsay, Oronsay, Jura, Gigha, Luing, Scarba, Mull, Ulva, Gometra, Lismore, Kererra, Shuna and Iona.There are in addition numerous small islands which, although no longer cultivated or inhabited are utilised for grazing stock by farmers and crofters from adjacent islands and from the mainland.Agricultural land use and livestock production on the islands is governed largely by soil type, elevation, exposure and grazing quality. An aspect of increasing importance is the proportion of arable land relative to hill and mountain grazing. Cattle stocks in particular tend to be limited to the quantity of winter fodder which can be home-conserved since the prohibitive costs of importing fodder by road and sea are a serious constraint on the profitability of cattle raising.Until recent times cropping on the arable land of many of the islands followed a traditional seven year rotation of oats, roots and potatoes, sow-out to grass under a cereal nurse crop followed by three years of hay conservation or grazing. During the past ten years there has been an increasing swing from mixed cropping towards grasslands production. On many farms and crofts the emphasis on conservation lies in hay-making but silage has become increasingly popular particularly on larger farm units in Islay, Gigha, Luing and Mull.Current statistics indicate that the livestock population of the islands consists of 166,250 breeding ewes, 13,850 beef type breeding cows and 1,770 dairy cows together with their followers.Sheep are mainly of Blackface breed but on Skye are found some 12,000 Cheviots with further Cheviot flocks located on Eigg, Canna, Rhum, Scalpay and Soay.On the fertile machairs of Tiree and Iona sheep stocks are composed of Leicester/Down X ewes which are mated usually with Suffolk and X Suffolk rams.Dairy farming is centred mainly on Islay and Gigha. There is a creamery on each of those islands, the Islay Creamery processing some 3,043 million litres of milk annually while the creamery unit on Gigha has a throughput of 1·431 million litres.Transport costs, ageing population in the crofting sector and the vast number of small units all contribute to the many problems which face islands agriculture at the present time.