A move for Scotland’s expanding organic sector has seen the creation of a dedicated Scottish Organic Producer Board — the first of its kind — established by Soil Association Scotland to give farmers a stronger voice.
Its launch comes as organic farming continues to accelerate nationwide. The total area under organic management in Scotland reached around 132,000 hectares in 2024, a 13% rise on the previous year and up 44% since 2018.
Sarah Morbey, owner of Coldwells Farm in Insch and an organic farmer for more than two decades, was unanimously elected as the board’s first chair and will serve a one-year term.
The board draws members from a broad cross-section of Scotland’s organic community, including mixed livestock and arable farms, dairy producers and market gardens supplying both direct customers and major retailers.
Formed to guide the charity’s work in Scotland, the board will act as a “sounding board” for Soil Association Scotland’s policy and farming programmes and advise on emerging priorities.
It will also help ensure that farmers, growers and food producers have their concerns represented across the organisation and the wider organic movement. It will work closely with the Soil Association’s UK Organic Producer Board.
David McKay, co-director of Soil Association Scotland, said the board comes at a crucial moment, with organic farming “on the rise in Scotland” and government backing helping to drive “six straight years of growth in the land area.”
He added that a Scotland-specific body had become important due to the “increasing divergence in agricultural policy and operating context north of the border.”
Morbey welcomed the move, calling it “exciting to see the formation of this board.” She said Scottish organic farmers, growers and crofters had long sought stronger representation on issues such as market conditions, organic policy, procurement and payment requirements like Whole Farm Plans.
She stressed that board members were experienced certified producers ready to “take forward any concerns, raise key issues and policy ideas Scottish organic farmers and growers may have.”
Members of the Scottish Organic Producer Board are: Sarah Morbey (Coldwells Farm, Aberdeenshire); Ross Paton (Torr Farm, Dumfries and Galloway); Reuben Chesters (Locavore, Glasgow); Rachel Ives (Kilburns Farm, Fife); Chris Gospel (CW Gospel, Aberdeenshire); Phil Swire (Balmakewan Farm, Aberdeenshire); Ruth Ashton-Shaw (Low Auldgirth Steading, Dumfries and Galloway); and Deborah Richardson-Webb (The Lint Mill, South Lanarkshire).
