Advisory service

Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service (FAS), established in 2016, is funded by the Scottish Government.

The FAS is delivered by SAC Consulting (part of Scotland’s Rural College) and Ricardo Energy and Environment on behalf of the Scottish Government under contract arrangements. The vast majority of support offered through FAS is free at the point of use.

There is a FAS website, which is supported by a dedicated telephone advice line for farmers and crofters:

The advice line operates between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, covering a wide variety of topics including cross compliance, crop or animal health, farm/croft efficiency, biodiversity, water framework directive requirements, climate change and other technical matters.

The FAS website is where you can find general information, tools, videos, podcasts, as well as details on local peer-to-peer group and apps, all of which is designed to be relevant to modern farming and crofting enterprises. At its centre is a calendar of events that details all of the workshops, network farm/croft meetings, local group meetings and conferences that are planned and delivered as part of the FAS.

The website also hosts the entry point for grant applications for bespoke one-to-one support, tailored to help keep your farm or croft profitable and sustainable. This includes detail on access arrangements for Integrated Land Management Plans (ILMP), specialist advice, mentoring and Carbon Audits.

Application forms can now be accessed from the website. These can help to provide up to £1,200 grant assistance for Integrated Land Management Plans, up to £1,000 of Mentoring and/or Specialist Advice support and £500 for Carbon Audits.

Another feature of the FAS is the Croft and Small Farm section. Here you can find information on a range of crofting and smallholding matters, whether you are new to crofting or an experienced crofter or smallholder. Information and advice is available on a range of topics from de-crofting and croft registrations, to sheep stock clubs or grassland management.

In addition to the materials tailored to the needs of crofters and smallholders, the FAS holds many events throughout Scotland. Check out the Events page, and for bespoke advice, have a look at Croft and Small Farm section.

Key links

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