Craig Hoy MSP recently met with National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) representatives at the Langholm Show where he discussed rural priorities and the challenges currently facing farmers in the region.
Mr Hoy met with Robert Neill, NFUS Vice President, and Mhairia Dawson, Regional Manager for Dumfries and Galloway. He was joined at the meeting by Conservative colleagues David Mundell MP and Oliver Mundell MSP. Together, they heard first-hand the concerns NFUS, and local farmers are raising both locally and nationally.
Speaking after the meeting Mr Hoy said: “I was pleased to meet Robert and Mhairi at the Langholm Show. It is always valuable to hear directly from NFUS and local farmers about the specific issues they are facing in what are another challenging and uncertain times for the sector.
“Many farmers remain very concerned about the impact of Labour’s cruel tax on family farms. This attack on rural Scotland cannot be allowed to go ahead and I will continue to lobby hard against it. Farms are the backbone of rural Scotland, and I fully support the sector.”
Mr Hoy, who is also his party’s candidate for Dumfriesshire, said he remained committed to delivering fair funding for farmers.
He said: “The Scottish Conservatives have pledged to support multi-year ring fenced funding for farmers. That will be vital to give farmers the certainty that they can continue to operate despite the significant problems they face because of Scottish government policy.”
Mhairi Dawson, Regional Manager Dumfries and Galloway said: “David, Oliver, Craig, and Denis understand our concerns over the loss of productive agricultural land locally to both landscape scale tree planting and energy projects, and the threat this poses to national food security. We are working to hard towards a profitable, resilient, agricultural sector and it was encouraging to see clear support from local councillors, MSPs and MP.
