What’s On

The Festival aims to inform, educate and inspire, and to give you the opportunity to access information and advice from experienced practitioners that will support and encourage you in your future smallholding ventures.

We are going to have a full talks programme and a number of demonstrations all under the theme of “Sustainability on the smallholding”. These will give you lots of information on the hot topic of how to farm sustainably.

We will have lots of other things for you to see and enjoy – shows, showcases, a trade hall and of course the opportunity to catch up with like-minded people!

Competitions and shows

We are running competitive live shows, so we hope you will join us. Entries are now open and close on Friday 1st October, so there’s plenty of time to get your entries ready!

Our Poultry & Waterfowl Show has classes for turkeys, geese, ducks and poultry.
Our Sheep show has a range of classes focused on young stock as well as best horns and young handler sections
Our Goat show also features classes for young stock and entries are also expected for the best horns and young handler competitions
The Pig show is back! The Kune Kune society will be running their classes and we are hoping to have a wider competition for all traditional breeds of pig.
Our Garden, Craft & Kitchen competition has classes for growing, craft, cookery, photography, honey, and eggs.

We are also running online virtual shows using photographs for cattle and equines.

View the schedules

Livestock showcases

Central to the Festival is our Livestock Showcases – for most smallholders, livestock are a “must-have” – but what to choose?

The Festival aims to have as many breeds of pigs, sheep, goats, cattle and equines as well as Alpacas on display as possible, along with their owners and breed societies, so that smallholders and aspiring smallholders can make the right choice for them. You will also be able to visit the poultry lines to get a view of the different birds you can own.

Seminars & demonstrations

Colleen McCulloch, Soil Association Scotland

Our seminar programme follows a theme this year. Our talks will be focused on sustainability on the smallholding. We’ve got an exciting and varied range of seminars and talks that run throughout the day. You will hear about all aspects of sustainable farming from dung beetles to heat pumps, and measurement to green grants.

Entry to all talks will be via ticket which you will be able to buy through our system. Each ticket will cover you for all talks during the day and will cost £10.

The full programme can be found on the Programme of Events page.

Trade Exhibition

The Festival Trade Exhibition will showcase the best suppliers and services for smallholders and small scale producers, including equipment, machinery, renewable energy generation, food production, grassland management and livestock husbandry as well as fibre produce and skills development. Don’t forget you will also be able to learn about crook and stick making as well as bees and honey, and talk to farm based organisations.