Read the latest RISS news and group stories

RISS: Three years of collaborative innovation

As RISS comes to an end, Senior Farming Programmes Manager at Soil Association Scotland and RISS lead, Dr Bruce Pearce, reflects...

Success for organic oilseed rape growers

Over 35 tonnes of organic rapeseed was harvested in Scotland last year and a new producer group has formed.

Farmer Blockchain Project Seeks Funding To Reach Next Level

Last year, six North-East farmers worked with SAC Consulting and data company Wallet Services to develop distributed ledger, or blockchain, technology to allow shoppers to trace their oats back along the supply chain and be confident that they are 100% gluten-free.

Making the case for sugar beet in Scotland

The Sugar Beet Working Group (SBWG) is an informal, cross-sectoral group working towards the reintroduction of sugar beet to Scotland. This will support sustainable fuel and chemicals production using biotechnology and help deliver Scotland’s net-zero targets.

Pulses: a healthy, sustainable crop for Scotland

A group of farmers growing peas, beans and lentils has got together with processors, buyers and researchers to take more Scottish, locally grown pulses to market.

Aberdeenshire farmers to step away from "plasticulture"

With up to three million tonnes of plastics used in agriculture each year, eight North East farmers formed a group to explore ways of reducing the production of waste plastic.

Can livestock grazing of winter cereals aid soil biology?

Grazing livestock on winter cereals could improve soil, allow for earlier drilling dates, control pests and diseases and influence yield potential, according to recent trial results.

Flower Power: Scottish Growers Unite To Promote 'Grown Not Flown'

A group of growers has got together to promote the benefits of the Scottish cut-flower sector, as horticulture blooms post Brexit and Covid.

Shellfish to Fight Potato Pest PCN

A group of farmers and researchers has developed an innovative, sustainable method of tackling a pest that threatens to “annihilate” Scotland’s potato industry within 30 years.

Meet the Facilitator: Helen Glass, SAOS

PCN Chitin and Smart Farming facilitator Helen Glass talks about bringing farmers and academics together and building working relationships that last.

Brewing Scotland's tea industry

When you think about where your morning cuppa comes from, you might not picture a plantation in the heart of the Scottish landscape. But there about 40 tea growers across Scotland, and a group of them are now working together to solidify and expand the burgeoning Scottish tea industry.

Funding for wading birds partnership

A former RISS group comprising RSPB Scotland, SAC Consulting and 17 farmers in the upper Clyde Valley has received Biodiversity Challenge Funding from Scottish Natural Heritage in order to expand local conservation efforts for wading birds.

Meet RISS lead Colleen McCulloch

The former RISS facilitator cut her innovation teeth on Field Labs and Mongolian sheep

Hydrogen-Fuelled Tractor Enthusiasm Grows On Aberdeenshire Farm

Retrofitting two tractors and a farm jeep with a hydrogen electrolyser has seen farmer David Barron of Nether Aden in Aberdeenshire, Chairman of the Scottish Beef Association, saving 20% on his fuel costs.

Futureproof Conversations: Summary

In May 2020, during the coronavirus lockdown, the Rural Innovation Support Service (RISS) held an online workshop called Futureproof your Farm: How to adapt your farm business to the Covid-19 and climate change crises.

Futureproof Conversations: Net zero Arran

Sheep farmer David Henderson of Kilpatrick Farm on Arran and facilitator Alexander Pirie of SAC Consulting talk about their Net Zero Arran RISS group, which is trying to quantify and then reduce the island’s carbon footprint.

Futureproof Conversations: Scottish Apples

Farmer Roger Howison and facilitator Amanda Brown discuss their Scottish Apples RISS group at our Futureproof your Farm workshop.

The UK’s First Trial Of Virtual Fencing For Large-Scale Hill Herds

A group of five highland and island hill farmers and crofters have started the first trial of virtual fencing on large-scale commercial hill herds in the UK.

Online workshop May 20: Futureproof your Farm

How to adapt your farm business to the Covid and climate crises

Farmers go for Net Zero Arran

Farmers on Arran are working together to reduce the island's carbon footprint, starting with their own greenhouse gas emissions.

Growing lemons on Lewis

With new advances in polytunnel technology, crofters on the Isle of Lewis are now successfully growing produce such as grapes, lemons and olives on the island.

Farmers join forces to protect wading birds

Ten farmers will carry on monitoring wading bird populations, past the end of formal projects and despite a failed funding bid.

Bringing apple orchards back to Scotland

A group of apple growers has formed to revive Scotland’s almost extinct apple growing industry.

Bringing sugar beet back to Scotland

Almost fifty years on from the closure of the Scottish Sugar Beet factory in Cupar, a Rural Innovation Support Service (RISS) group aims to look into the feasibility and steps required to re-establish the crop and its processing in eastern Scotland.

RISS: Two years of farmer-led innovation

Soil Association Scotland's deputy director David Michie reflects on two years of RISS and looks ahead.

Farmer Focus: Murray Cooper

Murray Cooper of Mains of Thornton talks about his involvement in the organic oilseed rape RISS group, which became the SCOCAN project, trying to grow the crop on a commercial scale for the first time in the UK.

Funding for cow with calf project

An innovative ‘cow with calf’ dairy project has been given a financial boost from the Scottish Government’s Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF).

Funding for Organic Oilseed Rape group canola project

A RISS group has been awarded £30,000 to continue its attempt to grow the UK’s first organic oilseed rape crop on a commercial scale and to share its work with the public.

Supporting farming innovation in Scotland

Two RISS groups are among those awarded £340, 000 as the Scottish Government invests in a low carbon future.

New Meat On The Menu From Scotland's Shooting Industry

Estates across Aberdeenshire are joining together to introduce consumers to a Scottish food product they might not usually pick up on their weekly shop.

Farmers unite to save Scotland's potato industry

A Rural Innovation Support Service (RISS) group has been formed to unite growers, farmers and industry representatives in tackling the growing threat of potato cyst nematode (PCN) to Scotland’s potato industry.

New land-matching service for Scotland

Scotland’s first land matching service, which will tackle the double problem of an ageing farming population and lack of access to land for new entrants, has been launched by Scottish Government.

Farmers use blockchain to assure gluten-free oats

Six farmers in north-east Scotland are working with SAC Consulting and a data company to develop distributed ledger, or blockchain, technology that will allow shoppers to trace their oats right back along the supply chain and be completely sure they are gluten-free.

Wood chip for livestock bedding

Four west coast farmers are trialling different kinds of woodchip as an alternative to straw for livestock bedding, and will work with a scientist to assess its impact on soil.

Innovation in Scottish agriculture

Creating new breeding technology and developing new bedding for cattle are among the exciting agriculture projects to share more than £175,000 of investment.

Innovation in organic livestock feed

Five organic farmers in North East Scotland have launched a pilot project with a commercial feed processor to try and grow the UK’s first viable organic oil seed rape crop for the animal feed supply chain.

Matchmaking Scottish farmers with land

While other countries already have some kind of ‘land matching' service in place, Scotland does not, but that is set to change.

Raising the baa for Skye mutton

An event on Skye brought together sheep farmers, chefs and the business community to promote (and eat) a new island brand: Skye mutton.

Speeding up dairy breeding

Our first group brought together three grass-based dairy farmers in Dumfries and Galloway and South Ayrshire who combined their herd data with genetic testing to identify their best cows, then used IVF and embryo transfer to turn their poorer cows into better ones

Getting local veg into Scottish schools

A RISS group is forming to explore how to increase the proportion of Scottish vegetables on Scottish school plates in Edinburgh, the Borders and East and West Lothian, with a view to passing on any solutions to interested local authorities across Scotland.

Better marketing of hill sheep

A large group spanning of farmers in Scotland and Ireland has decided to focus on marketing hill sheep as the best way to boost the declining profitability of the hill sheep industry.

Fighting liver fluke sustainably

Eight Lockerbie sheep farmers have got together with two local vet practices and a RISS facilitator to try and find alternative ways to control liver fluke.

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“Our rural businesses are full of people with the skills, expertise and potential to drive the rural economy forward. All they need is the right support, delivered at the right time” Rural Affairs Minister Mairi Gougeon