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I agree that we need to make sure that that information is available. The monitor farms are a great tool. I heard a phrase in a completely different environment to this, which was that men learn shoulder to shoulder and women talk face to face. Those monitor farms give farmers the opportunity to have those conversations and pick things up and think, “Well, I could do that,” without having it being given to them or rammed down their throat. Once they start to see things happening, they think, “I could implement that at home.” From my experience, that is definitely always the best way. I have certainly learned things by meeting and speaking to other farmers and saying, “That’s a good idea—I want to try that.”

I am confident that the people who are doing the work that we require them to do will deliver it for us. We have an exceptional team of people—an awful lot of them—working behind the scenes, who are highly skilled, so I am confident that they will deliver the scheme that we require them to deliver.

Divergence will always be part of a devolved policy, and divergence is expected as a result of devolution, because each nation will seek to address its needs in the way that best suits it. The common frameworks were created as a policy-neutral way to manage divergence across the UK by agreement and collaboration between equals—I think that that was the approximate framing of that approach. Those frameworks are still provisional, but they are fully operational intergovernmental arrangements that are used by all the Governments across the UK to manage policy divergence. The agricultural support framework provides a non-legislative mechanism by which all four nations can collaborate, co-ordinate and co-operate regarding what the future policy will look like across the whole of the UK, now that we have left the EU.

However, the UK Government included agricultural support in the scope of the Subsidy Control Act 2022, which risks undermining the agricultural support framework. The act and the internal market principle in particular risk making the common frameworks process redundant. We would like that not to be the case, because it puts legislative restrictions on policy divergence within the UK, rather than managing it through mutual co-operation via the framework. We will all remember Jonnie Hall’s interpretation, which was that the internal market act

“drives a coach and horses through the principles of common frameworks”.—[Official Report, Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, 16 December 2021; c 4.]

I hope that there will not be issues. We have a much better working relationship with the UK Government right now, so I hope that we have an approach that respects the decisions that the devolved Parliaments make on behalf of their people.

The NFU stated that, if we took an ELMS approach in Scotland and phased out direct support and things such as less-favoured area support for more disadvantaged areas, that would almost be the death knell for Scottish agriculture. What other countries are doing in their policy is entirely up to them. However, as I have just said, I hope that there is respect for the devolved settlement to allow us to continue to do what we know is right for our farmers.

We have regular interministerial group meetings, which are chaired by the relevant minister, depending on which of the four nations is hosting. I think that the next one is supposed to be in Belfast. Unfortunately, I cannot attend it. I think that it might now be held online. We regularly have such conversations. Of course there will be differences of opinion on what is happening but, as long as that does not impinge on our ability to do what we need to do here, in Scotland, that is fine.

There has been no indication that there would be any issues with regard to trade or that any barriers would be put in place in relation to anything that we are doing. I do not anticipate that that would happen. If we got word that that was to happen, that would be disappointing, to put it diplomatically.

As I am sure you are aware, the Government is very supportive of integrating trees on farms. We know about the benefits that trees provide, which include shelter and shade. They also help us to tackle the climate change issues that we have talked about. The integrating trees network supports farmers and crofters across Scotland to develop their knowledge and understanding of planting and managing trees on their land. In recognition of those efforts, the network received the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management’s 2024 best practice knowledge sharing award.

There is a lot of information out there to help farmers to integrate trees on their land. I regularly tweet about programmes on farms that are designed to look at what people are doing. That goes back to the point that I made earlier: farmers talking to one another peer to peer is probably the best way of disseminating information. I regularly see such initiatives by the integrating trees network, and I will put information about them on social media to let people know that they are happening.

We would absolutely encourage farmers to take up agroforestry, and there is help there for those who want to do so.

The Scottish Government puts out regular social media posts on various platforms.

If members are on social media and see them, I ask them to please get the posts out there, because farmers will be following your accounts and that helps us to get the information out to people as and when events are happening. It is useful for people to know about them, and we want to encourage people in relation to them.

They are already doing that and we are already having those conversations. The code will be there as a document at a later point, but right now we are having conversations about what we are looking to do. We are talking about sustainable and regenerative agriculture. We just talked about the peer-to-peer conversations that are being had. That is all in development.

I would like people to remember that we are at the very early stages of this transition. Some people are miles ahead and others are just coming to it. It is not a final piece of work. We are continuing to develop it as we go along. It will depend on where people are picking up the process and where they find themselves at this moment in time.

You put it far better than I could have put it myself. Yes—that is exactly what it will be. It is about working with, and developing processes for, the sector so that it knows exactly what will allow it to get into that sustainable and regenerative agriculture that we are all trying to get to.

No, I have not considered that at this stage, if I am absolutely honest. I have not thought about what that will do. Plenty of farmers would not agree with what you have just said. I take your point on board, but I cannot give any guarantees on what you have asked.