The Scottish Smallholder Festival

The Scottish Smallholder Festival is the leading place where smallholders, small producers, growers and everyone interested in a sustainable way of life join together to share, learn, show, buy and be inspired.

Taking place at the home of Agriculture in Scotland, The Royal Highland Centre will host the 13th edition of the Festival, becoming a gathering place to celebrate the smallholder and a successful year of production at the end of the season.

The festival is an exciting opportunity for those interested in rural life to get a close-up view of small scale farming and all it can achieve.

This action-packed event will feature a seminar and demonstration programme, a new arts, craft and design zone, a rural skills exhibition, cookery demonstrations and taste tests, goat and sheep MOT’s, the smallholder market, skills hub and trade area, a garden, craft and food competition, and a chance to visit many stands featuring produce made by Scottish smallholders.

Attendees will also have the chance to see a livestock competition for sheep, goats and pigs in the Rare Breeds Survival Trust Championships, plus showcases of cattle breeds and poultry as well as a parade of equines and alpacas.

In what is expected to be a fantastic day for smallholders to gather ideas, display products and benchmark their success against other small producers, attendees can expect to come away informed, educated and inspired by this industry-leading festival.

Alan Jamieson, pig steward for the festival said: “The festival allows smallholders to come together at the end of a busy season, learn from each other and share best practice.

“People are becoming increasingly interested in how their food is produced and where it comes from.

“We are getting the message across to the public that smallholders are producing high-quality food in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way at a time when events such as Ukraine have shown just how important it is to have domestic food security.”