The Rare Breeds Survival Trust Food & Farming Sustainability Awards return for 2026, celebrating the vital role of native and rare breeds in the future of sustainable farming.
At this year’s Royal Highland Show, the @rbstrarebreeds awards will include a ‘Croft Of The Year’ category, recognising a croft that demonstrates outstanding innovation, resilience, and community connection.
This category celebrates crofts applying agroecological principles, often alongside native breeds, to build sustainable and productive systems that enhance biodiversity, support local food networks, and strengthen rural livelihoods despite limited scale.
Nominations can be made by third parties or by the nominees themselves. RBST will not publish the names of nominators, so crofters are welcome to put themselves forward.
Nominations close on Sunday 24 May 2026, with awards presented at the Royal Highland Show.
To enter the awards or make a nomination, please visit the link below.
.uk/food-farming-sustainability-awards
Join us at Reidchalmai Croft, Rogart for a guided woodland walk with Mark Foxwell and Fran Lockhart, who have spent the past eight years shaping, testing and learning from their croft woodlands with support from the Woodland Trust.
This is a chance to see what works (and what doesn’t), from grazing and regeneration to creating new woodland from the ground up.
We’ll walk the land, talk through real experiences, and open up conversation around managing croft woodlands in all their complexity.
🗓 Sunday 17 May
⏰ 10am – 4pm
📍 Reidchalmai Croft, IV28
🎟️ £10.00
Bring a picnic and dress for the ground underfoot. Tea, coffee and cake will be waiting.
Spaces are limited, so booking is essential.
Delivered in association with the @woodlandcrofts Croft Woodlands Project (@woodlandtrustscotland funded).
Booking and more info via the Training link in our bio.
Our SCF CEO Donna Smith will be at ReRoot this Saturday, and we’d love to see you there.
Come along, find our stand, and chat with us about all things crofting.
ReRoot is a local group based in south Skye, helping to inspire a more connected, healthy, sustainable and resilient food environment across Skye and Raasay through information, education, discussion, events and community projects.
Feel Heal Real Food: A local food day to inspire and inform...
📅 Saturday 25th April 2026
⏱️ 11am – 4pm
📍Broadford Village Hall, IV49 9AG
Drop in anytime. Entry is free!
The SCF will be hosting an online hustings event ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary elections, to be held on Tuesday 21st April at 7pm (duration approx. 1.5 hours) and we would be delighted if you could join us.
The following speakers have confirmed their participation: Alasdair Allan (SNP); Donald MacKinnon (Labour); Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrats MP); Ariane Burgess (Scottish Greens); Malcolm McTaggart (Reform UK).
An invitation has also been extended to the Scottish Conservatives (speaker TBC).
The event will feature a mix of pre-submitted and spontaneous questions giving attendees the opportunity to hear directly from candidates on the issues that matter most to crofting communities.
We warmly invite you to submit up to three crofting-related questions in advance by emailing [email protected].
Register in advance for this meeting via the link in our bio:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/NlLoY2PmSrKzGZ3ZD19Y4w
There will also be an opportunity to ask questions live during the event. Please send in your questions by the end of this week (19th April).
We look forward to welcoming you online.
The SCF will be hosting an online hustings event ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary elections, to be held on Tuesday 21st April at 7pm (duration approx. 1.5 hours) and we would be delighted if you could join us.
The following speakers have confirmed their participation: Alasdair Allan (SNP); Donald MacKinnon (Labour); Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrats MP); Ariane Burgess (Scottish Greens). Invitations have also been extended to the Scottish Conservatives and Reform UK (speakers TBC).
The event will feature a mix of pre-submitted and spontaneous questions giving attendees the opportunity to hear directly from candidates on the issues that matter most to crofting communities.
We warmly invite you to submit up to three crofting-related questions in advance by emailing [email protected].
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/NlLoY2PmSrKzGZ3ZD19Y4w (link in bio)
There will also be an opportunity to ask questions live during the event. Please send in your questions by the end of this week (19th April).
We look forward to welcoming you online.
Join us at Reidchalmai Croft, Rogart for a guided woodland walk with @markfoxwell Mark Foxwell and Fran Lockhart, who have spent the past eight years shaping, testing and learning from their croft woodlands with support from the Woodland Trust.
This is a chance to see what works (and what doesn’t), from grazing and regeneration to creating new woodland from the ground up. We’ll walk the land, talk through real experiences, and open up conversation around managing croft woodlands in all their complexity. 📆 Sunday 17 May ⏱️ 10am – 4pm
📍 Reidchalmai Croft, IV28
🎟️ £10.00
Bring a picnic and dress for the ground underfoot. Tea, coffee and cake will be waiting.
Spaces are limited, so booking is essential.
Delivered in association with the @woodlandcrofts Croft Woodlands Project (@woodlandtrustscotland funded).
Look via the training link in our bio or go to /training
Our office phones are temporarily out of action as we settle into our new premises!
If you need to get in touch with the team, please email HQ via [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Thanks for your patience while we get everything up and running again.
The Crofting Bill has passed Stage 3 in the Scottish Parliament today.
While the changes introduced are modest, they represent important improvements to existing crofting law. Crucially, there is now a clear commitment from government to begin a comprehensive review of legislation within the next two years, paving the way for full crofting law reform in the future.
Throughout the process, proposals have been strengthened through consultation and constructive dialogue with the SCF, with careful scrutiny from the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee.
There are some important gains in the final Bill. These include stronger protections for crofter-led environmental projects on common grazings, helping to ensure that initiatives cannot be blocked without valid reason. There are also steps to tighten rules around absenteeism and strengthen how crofts are occupied and managed.
However, challenges remain. Questions around carbon markets, absenteeism and the growing market in crofts are still very real, and will need to be addressed through future reform.
SCF Chief Executive Donna Smith said: “Government has demonstrated that it is willing to listen where crofters have given clear evidence and made proposals for improvements. We now need to build on this and start shaping a new legislative framework that supports crofting to thrive.”
At SCF, we will continue to work with our members and government to ensure that the next phase of reform delivers for crofters and communities.
Read the full press statement here: /croftingbill2026 (see News link in our bio)
The Crofting Bill has just passed Stage 3 in the Scottish Parliament.
Here’s our CEO Donna Smith with an update and we’ll make a full statement shortly.
THIS WEDNESDAY!
A biodiversity audit is one of the plans within the Whole Farm Plan and will become a requirement for crofters claiming Basic Payment and other schemes such as the Future Farming Investment Scheme (FFIS).
Join us online on Wednesday 25 March, 7.30–9.00pm to learn what a biodiversity audit is, how it fits into the Whole Farm Plan, and how you can complete one yourself without paying a consultant.
@naturescot will demonstrate their Farm Biodiversity Scotland tool, and crofters Neil Maclean, Andy Rogers and Chris Arthur will share their own experiences of completing biodiversity audits using simple, practical methods.
There will be plenty of time to ask questions during the session.
Tickets: £5 SCF members / £15 non-members.
Book now via the training link in our bio.
A wee update from our CEO Donna Smith from the Scottish Parliament as the Crofting Bill’s stage 3 amendments discussions come to a close today. More soon!
More than half of Scotland’s crofters have already submitted their mandatory 2025 Annual Notice, according to the Crofting Commission @croftingscot We encourage anyone who has not yet completed theirs to do so soon, ahead of the 6 April 2026 deadline.
The Annual Notice is a legal requirement confirming that crofters are meeting their duties, including living within 32km of their croft, actively using the land and ensuring it is properly maintained.
The Crofting Commission has said it is now following up with those who have not returned their notice, and failure to submit it can lead to enforcement action.
The notice is quick and free to complete online through the Crofting Commission website, or by calling 01463 663 488 where staff can complete it over the phone.
If any members would like to discuss their situation informally with SCF in the first instance, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] and we will do our best to help.
Learn more at:
