How Data and Collaboration Are Helping North Highland Farmers Build More Resilient Businesses

A collaborative project involving 21 beef and sheep farms across the North Highlands and North East of Scotland is demonstrating how practical data, trusted advice and peer-to-peer learning can help farmers make informed decisions for the future.

Working alongside the North Highland Initiative (NHI), Soil Association Exchange supported a pilot programme designed to help livestock farmers better understand their businesses across a range of environmental, animal health and production measures.

The project brought together farmers from Caithness, Ross-shire, Inverness-shire, Morayshire, Aberdeenshire and Angus, creating an opportunity to establish baseline information and explore how farm performance, environmental stewardship and business resilience can be strengthened together.

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Understanding the Whole Farm Picture

Building on NHI’s previously commissioned work through the Jude Capper Report and using the Soil Association Exchange platform, participating farms gathered information across a range of areas including:

• Soil health

• Biodiversity

• Carbon and environmental performance

• Animal health and welfare

• Livestock production measures

The aim was to provide farmers with a clear picture of where their businesses currently stand and help identify practical opportunities for future improvement.

The work also supports farmers as they prepare for changing policy requirements and increasing expectations around environmental management and farm sustainability.

Turning Information into Action

Data collection took place during summer 2025, after which Soil Association Exchange advisers worked directly with farmers through a series of workshops and one-to-one support sessions.

The workshops provided an opportunity for participants to explore their results, discuss common themes emerging across the group and learn from the experiences of fellow farmers. Follow-up advisory sessions allowed each farm to review its individual data in more detail and develop actions relevant to its own business objectives.

The process highlighted the value of combining robust farm-level information with practical advice, enabling farmers to make decisions based on evidence while recognising the unique circumstances of every farming business.

Working Together for Long-Term Resilience

The project brought together a broad range of organisations from across agriculture, the supply chain, conservation and rural development sectors, including Sainsbury's, ABP, Dunbia, The Royal Countryside Fund, Dounreay, NatureScot, RSPB Scotland, QMS, NFU Scotland, HIE/Focus North and the UHI.

This collaborative approach reflects a growing recognition that supporting farmers through future challenges requires partnership working, knowledge sharing and practical solutions that deliver benefits for both farm businesses and the wider environment.

Looking Ahead

The pilot has shown strong farmer engagement and demonstrated the appetite for continued support, advice and knowledge exchange.

Building on the findings, a programme of workshops and learning opportunities is planned throughout 2026 and 2027, helping farmers explore the key themes identified through the project. Discussions are also underway to secure further funding and expand the initiative to support additional farming businesses across the region.

Farmers are being asked to respond to a rapidly changing landscape of policy, market and environmental expectations. Projects like this show the value of giving farmers access to good data, trusted advice and the time to reflect on what it means for their own businesses. The goal is not simply measurement but helping farmers identify practical actions that support both profitability and long-term resilience.

For Soil Association Exchange, the project highlights the importance of giving farmers access to meaningful data, trusted advice and practical tools that help them understand their businesses, improve resilience and identify opportunities for positive environmental and economic outcomes.

By working alongside farmers and partners across the sector, we can help build a future where thriving farm businesses and healthy natural systems go hand in hand.

"NHI has been working with and to support farmers in our region for over 20 years. This project gives us the clearest view that the management of our landscapes, environments and farm businesses is deeply entwined and in good hands”.

Genevieve Duhigg, Chair of NHI

"In this project with North Highland Initiative, we’ve presented farmers with a clearer picture of their own businesses, not just another layer of reporting. Seeing that work translate into very real conversations about soil, welfare and profitability is exactly the outcome we'd hoped for, and just a first step towards meaningful change for the farmers we’ve worked with."

Joseph Gridley, Soil Association Exchange CEO

Read the full project report here.