Agriscot made a flying start yesterday thanks to a quartet of young debaters and a very thorny subject.
The event, organised by Royal Highland Education Trust, saw a team from Dundee High School arguing for the retention of agricultural subsidies while the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs team argued for them to be abolished.
Under the chairmanship of High School teacher Irene McGrath the debate soon gained momentum, with audience members having their chance to throw in an opinion or two.
Forfar Academy FP and SRUC Craibstone student Matthew Steel argued against subsidies, saying farmers were belittling themselves in the eyes of the public by accepting so much taxpayers’ money.
“If the job of being a slipper farmer had been offered at a school career evening I would have jumped at it!” he said.
Ciara Mitchell of Dundee High School completely disagreed.
Subsidies were essential to support food production, and if the current system was wrong it should be reformed, not scrapped.
Subsidies did mean cross-compliance, but that was no bad thing because society benefited.
Eilidh Collins, sixth year Forfar Academy pupil, for the Young Farmers, was having none of it.
“Don’t tell me bodies such as Sepa would disappear just because there were no subsidies. We need to be more like New Zealand, which did away with subsidies and went out and found new markets.”
High School’s Rachel Allen countered, saying that if farmers were to thrive they needed the sort of steady and constant income that could only come from a subsidised system.
There was plenty for the 150-strong audience to absorb.
A straw poll revealed only 30 in favour of abolishing subsidies. That didn’t stop it being a stimulating debate, though.
RHET chairman James Dunlop was delighted with the event. “I learned my speechmaking in Young Farmers days, but standards have certainly moved on,” he said.