News
3rd Festival promises to be the best yet!
Jul
The third running of the Scottish Smallholder and Grower Festival, on the 27th September 2014, promises to be the best yet, with an increase in the number of livestock classes, a first Scottish National Championship, a bigger Trade and Garden Hall and a stunning line up of speakers and demonstrations.
The event will return to Lanark Agricultural Centre following its successful move to the venue in 2013.
The Festival, which is the largest smallholders’ event in Scotland, will bring a number of new innovations for 2014 including the introduction of cattle showing classes. The classes are targeted at rare and traditional breeds of cattle, reflecting the preference of many smallholders for native breeds and animals that require low levels of input.
The 2014 Festival will also launch the RBST Scottish Youngstock Championships, a competition aimed at showcasing current year stock from breeds that are or have been on the RBST Watchlist. Breeders who have timed their production for the spring will get an opportunity to show their young stock in preparation for the next year’s showing season. The competition is being held with the support of RBST – the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, and will be open to any breed of cattle, sheep, pig or goat named on the “watchlist” of RBST, or to any breed that has previously been on the list but has now recovered in numbers. This unique national competition will be judged by RBST President, Peter Titley.
Rosemary Champion, founder of the Festival, said
We are delighted to be returning to Lanark for the third Scottish Smallholder and Grower Festival. We are looking forward to a high level of competition, particularly for the RBST Scottish Youngstock Championships. We are very pleased to have a varied seminar and demonstration programme this year, and we are hoping to meet many new entrants to the world of small scale production.
