Fife businesses nominated for Scottish rural awards

​Scottish Land & Estates has announced the finalists for their Helping it Happen Awards, supported by headline sponsor NatureScot. The awards scheme focuses on estates, farms, rural businesses and individuals enabling success in rural communities.

East Neuk Estates, a collaboration of seven estates in the area, has been nominated for the Conservation Award. The estates have been actively involved in the East Neuk Corn Buntings Project – an initiative undertaken by a range of farms and estates across the East Neuk. The project aims to reverse the decline of the Corn Bunting, one of the rarest birds in Scotland. One of its last strongholds is East Neuk where there is a remnant population of about 200. They can be heard singing from wires and prominent bushes around St Monans, Pittenweem and Anstruther and have a distinctive jangling song.

Balbirnie Home Farms, based at Freuchie, has nominated for The Iver Salvesen Award for Combatting Climate Change. Balbirnie has been working with the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) over the last three years at its Strategic Cereal Farm, developing an approach that has prioritised plant and soil nutrition to save money and reliance on chemical inputs which has the potential to reduce variable costs across different crops.

Scottish Land & Estates’ Chief Executive, Sarah-Jane Laing, said: “We are delighted to receive a record-breaking number of nominations for this year’s awards and these stories of success from all over Scotland are inspirational. A number of categories have been being hotly contested and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to celebrate with our finalists and winners at the awards ceremony in October.”

Claudia Rowse, NatureScot’s Deputy Director of Green Economy, and a judge on the Helping it Happen panel, said: “It has been a privilege to review a fantastic range of applications, and this made it so difficult to choose winners. So many are showcasing how to address the nature and climate crises alongside running profitable businesses that are forward looking and resilient.”