Rural Roundup - Planning for Autumn

Welcome back to the Rural Round-up. On today’s episode George Chalmers and Tiffany Stephenson discuss Bluetongue, updates to greening guidance for 2027 and updates to the Future Farming Investment Scheme (FFIS), as well as other key considerations for Autumn 2026.TimestampsHow are things in the borders? 00:27Bluetongue 03:30Greening guidance for 2027 06:25Future Farming Investment Scheme (FFIS) 16:00EFA Hedge cutting guidance 22:17NVZ closed period dates 23:46Taking stock of what you have before winter feeding. 27:11Soil sampling 28:49Managing grass for tupping 29:47FAS ResourcesFarming in Water Scarcity https://www.fas.scot/news/farming-in-water-scarcity/Other ResourcesBluetongue Latest updates can be found here: Gov.uk latest BTV updatesBluetongue Clinical signs in sheep are usually more pronounced than in cattle but can be very variable. A range of photos can be found here: https://ahdb.org.uk/clinical-signs-of-bluetongue.Suspect cases should be reported to APHA Scotland on 03000 600 704.The Ruminant Health and Welfare website has various Bluetongue resources for vets and farmers including a vaccination decision maker tool (Battle Bluetongue vaccination decision maker tool)FFIS 2026 Update https://www.ruralpayments.org/news-events/future-farming-investment-scheme-2026-announced.htmlGreening guidance 2027: https://www.ruralpayments.org/topics/all-schemes/basic-payment-scheme/basic-payment-scheme-full-guidance/greening---bps/greening-guidance/For more information, visit www.FAS.scotTwitter: @FASScotFacebook: @FASScotNational Advice HubPhone: 0300 323 0161Email: advice@fas.scot