Liberal Democrat South of Scotland MSP and Deputy Rural Affairs spokesperson Jim Hume held a crucial meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg MP at the Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference held in Perth on the 5th March with Vice President of the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) Alan Bowie.

Mr Hume used the opportunity to impress on the Deputy Prime Minister how important the agriculture industry is to Scotland especially in these difficult economic times, and to give the NFUS Vice President Alan Bowie the chance to air the views of the industry directly to Mr Clegg. More specifically, fuel duty, the milk industry and future of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) were discussed at the meeting.

Commenting after the meeting Mr Hume said:

“I was pleased that I had the opportunity to highlight to the Deputy Prime Minister, how important the agricultural industry is for Scotland.

“The Scottish agricultural industry has so much potential, not just in Scotland but further afield.

“We discussed several key issues during the meeting including the rising cost of fuel, the reforms that are underway on the Common Agricultural Policy and the difficult times that Scottish farmers are experiencing with milk prices.

“The Common Agricultural policy is of huge importance to Scottish farmers. During the meeting I stressed to Mr Clegg the need to take the concerns of Scottish farmers into account when pursuing any changes to the CAP, and gave the NFUS a chance to air their views on the matter directly.

“Having been a farmer, I know the difficulties that many farmers are having in terms of milk production. I used this meeting to make it clear what an important industry this is for Scotland and asked Mr Clegg to look at the issues that dairy farmers are experiencing.

“We cannot underestimate the importance of the agricultural industry to Scotland. I was pleased to have the opportunity to impress these issues on the Deputy Prime Minister directly, with the NFUS in attendance.”