News / Whalsay wife is new crofting chair
WHALSAY wife Eleanor Arthur is the new chairwoman of the Scottish Crofters Federation.
The 47 year old crofter was appointed at the SCF’s annual general meeting in Balmacara at the weekend.
In her address to the meeting she called on more people to join the organisation to help it tackle the challenges, such as crofting reform and the future of the Common Agricultural Policy.
Ms Arthur, who lives in Brae and crofts 30 acres on Whalsay, keeps native and cross bred sheep and Shetland kye.
She has been prominent in re-establishing the Shetland cattle breed and chairs the Shetland Cattle from Shetland Breeders’ Group. She also chaired the group responsible for the production a book on the history of the breed and its place in Shetland crofting culture.
“We are going to do a big membership drive because the way things are going we need members to support the small crofters,” she said on Tuesday after a hard day’s work at the Mid Brae Inn.
We are trying to do a lot and there are so many big issues with CAP and EID which all have a really, really big effect on the small producer.
“The costs are increasing and the legislation is getting more and more. The cost of transport and feed is going up and up and up and subsidies are getting lower and lower and lower. It’s a real struggle.”
She added that it was an up-hill struggle to get crofting understood by the policy makers. “The only way I see crofters having a voice and influence in Edinburgh, London and Brussels is for them to gather together under one banner and be big enough to be heard – we need numbers,” she said.
“The SCF provides this banner and it is very heartening to see that SCF membership is increasing, that crofters are joining and so making the SCF stronger and more representative.
“My intention is that the SCF continue to listen to its membership, to represent crofters effectively, and build on the good reputation it already holds nationally and internationally.”
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