Summary of Scotland

The Scots really turned it on for us. We met some great people and there generosity was enjoyed by us all. We saw some great operators and were impressed by the younger farmers we met who were really getting into improving productivity. We went to a potato, raspberry and strawberry grower who was a Nuffield scholar. His gross turnover was in excess of 7 mill. We saw a potato grower who had a huge operation which incorporated a grading aspect of his business for other farmers and sold to a company with a contract arrangement that meant, the company they sold to had exclusive rights to the growers produce, but no price for the grower in the contract. This was am interesting producer/processor model that I would like to explore more deeply. We visited a free range chicken operation that produced 1.4million eggs a day!!!! Another nuffield scholar. He also has some caged birds that he had just updated the set up to meet the new "consumer" demanded cages. The cost of  his grain was skyrocketing and surpassing any level of profitability.
We attended a dinner with 60 invited guests. Many of them Nuffield scholars of Scotland. Each of the Australian scholars had to present their story. It was a great evening and was written up in the local newspaper. There was a guest speaker too who spoke of the challenges facing Scotland. The challenges were so familiar. One thing we all agreed as a group of observers/travellers is that everywhere we have travelled had access to labour from underprivelidged countries. This provided a solid work ethic base for the business to operate with.
Will share more soon