The next 12 months will shape the operating environment on Scottish farms 'for many years to come' according to NFU Scotland's President Nigel Miller.
He pointed out that the challenges coming forward for 2014 makes grassroots support more important than ever.
The dinners, taking place at Culloden Battlefield Visitors Centre, Inverness and the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Alloway on Thursday, 14 November will bring together many of the members who have represented or currently represent the Union at a local, regional or national level. HSBC Bank and Diageo sponsor both dinners, and Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Richard Lochhead, will address the Inverness dinner.
Miller said: “In this, the Union’s centenary year, it is more apparent than ever that the support and work of our members remains central to our effectiveness as their representative body.
“Without the time and dedication put in by them, backed up by our local secretaries, regional staff and HQ team, our work as a lobbying organisation would struggle to achieve the right results for Scottish farming. These dinners are a small way of recognising the work that some of those undertake in helping their fellow farmers.
“And their continued support is more valued than ever as the next 12 months will set the operating environment on Scotland’s farms for many years to come.
“The workload for 2014 is already well mapped out. Top of the list of priorities is shaping how a new CAP reform package will be implemented in Scotland in 2015. The nation will also make its choice on independence next September and we will work hard to make sure our members have all the information they need to make their choice on what is best for Scotland’s future. We will also be engaged in the Scottish Government’s review of the Agricultural holding legislation.
“Together, these policy areas have the potential to significantly influence the farm landscape, the opportunities for farm businesses, the future status of Scotland on the world stage and the trading relationships that will support our economy. It may be that 2014 will go down as the year that laid the political foundations of Scotland’s future and the year that also determined the future of the rural economy and its community.
“The Union will be at the centre of these decision-making processes and we need our members’ help to do that. Our pivotal role is generated by the support of our membership. Our understanding and influence will depend, not only on the professionalism of our team and their energy, but also on our members’ input.
“Their support has never been more valued as NFU Scotland starts its second hundred years.”
Ahead of the events, Allan Wilkinson, Head of Agriculture, HSBC Bank plc said: "Agriculture now has the biggest opportunity in front of it for over a generation. HSBC is delighted to have a specialist agriculture team in Scotland and to be the main sponsor of NFU Scotland President’s Dinners.”
