Sheep disappear from the hills as production costs eat into profits

A report released by the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) yesterday highlighted the dramatic decline in sheep numbers in the Scottish hills. The report revealed that stocks have dipped dramatically since 1999, most notably in the north-west, with many areas seeing a reduction of between 35% and 60%.

The figures suggest that this reduction in numbers is part of a process of downsizing coupled with a number of farmers withdrawing from sheep production, although the number of sheep per unit has dropped much more significantly than the number of holdings with sheep.

Cattle numbers have also declined, although not so starkly and not in the same areas.

The drop in cattle numbers in some areas has also been attributed to farmers downsizing their businesses or withdrawing.

However, in many areas, the changes are due to an increase in intensity as some farmers have expanded as others leave the industry.