Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

MP says crofters need more support post-Brexit

Mr Blackford described himself as a 'simple crofter'.
Mr Blackford described himself as a 'simple crofter'.

Mr Blackford said the tough winter has highlighted why crofters need more support post-Brexit.

The crofter and MP said the number of sheep farmers on Skye has halved over the last 17 years due to “very challenging” economics.

Poor lamb prices, a long and difficult winter and additional feeding costs due to a wet and cold spring keeping animals indoors have all added up to make crofting a precarious business, said Mr Blackford, as he urged the UK and Scottish governments to support the sector.

“There have been calls for the government to look favourably at the pressures people are under and I would encourage a welcoming ear,” he said. “A number of farmers have lost livestock over the last few weeks, which is heartbreaking because of the effort you put into rearing them, and also has a financial impact.

“We want to make sure we’ve got a way of life that’s a livelihood to keep future generations in work.”

One of the issues is tension between payments for crofting and for keeping land empty, which can be far higher.

“Whether within the current structures or post-Brexit we need to look again at support for active farmers and crofters,” said Mr Blackford. “We need to make sure there’s a proper balance between environmental support and those delivering livestock that goes onto the plates of people across Scotland.”

The MP called on Farming Minister Michael Gove to commit to matching EU funding post-Brexit, which he has so far only done to the end of this parliamentary term in 2022.

He said: “People are concerned about food standards and hygiene, which is very high here, and it’s important we give that adequate protection.”

Scottish Government agency the Crofting Commission has launched a review of the croft support funding system this month, due to report back in June.

Commission convener Rod Mackenzie said: “We are aware of how important agriculture support is for the future of crofting, and believe it is vital that the debate about future support systems takes account of the particular challenges faced by crofters.

“More qualitative evidence is needed to help construct appropriate support for the future and that is why we have commissioned this research.”

The UK Government Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) declined to comment.