AN AYRSHIRE sheep farmer has spoken of his belief that barriers for new entrants to farming are still high, even as public interest in the industry grows.

Cammy Wilson was the keynote speaker at the 2023 agri-seminar organised by Galbraith, the rural consultancy and land agent.

The farmer hit the headlines worldwide recently when he led the rescue of Fiona the sheep, who was stranded alone for two years at the bottom of a cliff in Sutherland. 

Cammy has built up an audience of 342,000 followers on YouTube for his channel The Sheep Game, which lifts the lid on his day-to-day work shearing and looking after his flock of around 1,000 sheep.

He has also developed a business selling branded merchandise and a new podcast, Fed By Farmers, championing the importance of the agricultural sector.

Cammy said: “My dream is to own a farm. I’m already in the fortunate position that I can do the job that I love, working with my flock and shearing sheep for neighbouring farmers.

"However, what I would really like is to have my own farm, to provide some security and something to hand down to my children.

“Everything that I’ve done on social media and my side businesses are with that goal in mind – trying to establish multiple income streams to hopefully buy my own farm some day.”

Scotland's agricultural sector has also attracted growing interest through the BBC series This Farming Life, now in its sixth series, which has featured several farming families from Ayrshire over the years - most recently the Barclay family from Mid Brockloch, near Maybole.

Alice Wilson, from Galbraith, says the introduction of young people to farming is vitally important for the industry. 

She said: “New entrants to farming provide Scotland with fresh talent, innovative ideas and are vital for the future of the industry.

"Farming is a notoriously challenging sector to get into because most businesses are family owned, or run on a very small scale with expansion often being restricted by the scarcity of land brought to the market. Demand always exceeds supply by some margin.

“The number of Scottish farms occupied by people under the age of 40 has dropped to around 9 per cent, an issue which many of our clients are seeking to address.

“In Ayrshire there has been a good number of off-market land deals in recent years where the seller is keen to support the next generation coming into the sector.

"This helps ensure the long-term sustainability of the Scottish farming sector. We will keep working with Cammy and will offer any support we can to help him find a suitable landholding.”

The Galbraith agri-seminar also hosted a panel discussion on the opportunities available to farmers such as renewable energy initiatives as well as a discussion on sources of funding for business expansion.