Climate change is bringing opportunities as well as challenges for farmers and rural communities. Make sure you understand how the land lies.
One of the great myths about the countryside is that life moves more slowly than in urban areas. But anyone who owns or manages rural land will know, or should know, this simply isn’t the case.
The pace of rural change is breath-taking these days, certainly in Scotland.
Already in recent years, our rural clients have faced major changes such as land reform and the rules on letting private residential property. 2020 and beyond will bring fundamental changes to the way land is used and managed.
This led Savills to raise the possibility last year that a third of UK land use could change by 2050, with large areas of agricultural land being ‘released’ for woodlands, renewable energy or environmental adaptation.
That assessment came before a series of other major developments – such as Greta Thunberg gaining global fame, Scotland’s First Minister declaring a ‘climate emergency’, and Brexit. These will only increase the likelihood of changes to land use.
The upsides
Certainly, the coming years will bring challenges around meeting national goals for climate change mitigation and adaptation but there are upsides and opportunities too.
For instance, leasing land to wind farms is already bringing additional income to farmers, and should continue to do so. This is often the case with hill sheep farms, which use more traditional methods of farming and are potentially less profitable.
There are also opportunities in woodlands. For Scotland to reach its target of net zero emissions by 2045, increased tree planting will be required, and firms are paying landowners to create woodlands to offset their emissions.
This creates new revenue opportunities in areas previously regarded as remote or unproductive, and since longer rotation lengths for woodlands may allow more carbon to be sequestered, there are opportunities for new approaches to woodlands management.
Real-life change
Climate change may be a global issue, but in the Scottish countryside, it’s certainly not confined to politics or dinner-table debates. There will be day-to-day impacts for anyone who manages land – new subsidies to claim, revenue streams to identify, rules to comply with, and contracts and obligations to negotiate.
Rather than muddle through and potentially make mistakes, or miss opportunities, it’s best to take advice.
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