Kinclune - A Scottish Agritourism Monitor Farm

Kinclune Estate and Organic Farm is proud to be one of Scotland’s four new agritourism monitor farms, as announced last week at the Scottish Agritourism Conference by Scottish Deputy First Minister Shona Robison.

The Agritourism Monitor Farm Programme is funded by the Scottish Government to support the delivery of growth targets as set out in Scotland’s National Agritourism Strategy.

Kinclune’s role in the programme will be to share our experience of a major agritourism investment project, including the renovation of baronial mansion, Kinclune House, as a luxury large holiday let and the conversion of Kinclune Steading to a new rural wedding and events venue, as well as the introduction of on-farm experiences and activities. Through the programme we will share our experiences with other farm businesses, while gaining valuable advice and support from experts and peers.

The programme will also allow us to share best practice and existing knowledge on wildlife and the environment with the agritourism sector. Aylwin is on the Scotland steering group of the Nature Friendly Farming Network. The Kinclune team has been working with the RSPB since 2020, as well as with a number of other environmental bodies to manage the estate for the benefit, not only of our livestock, but also our wildlife and biodiversity. We won the RSPB Nature of Scotland Food and Farming Award in 2021 for integrating environmental considerations into farm decision-making and we are currently part of the Nature Scot ‘Farming with Nature’ case study group, as well as working with the Moredun Institute on monitoring the impact of our wader wetlands on livestock health.

Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance Shona Robison said, “Scotland’s rural economy is bursting with talent and potential, contributing £38 billion a year to the economy, and these new Monitor Farms will play a key role in that. They anchor their local communities, boost growth, encourage innovation and learning, and allow farm businesses to learn from each other, as well as government about what works well in agritourism.”

Caroline Millar, Facilitator for the new programme said, “The new programme is off to a great start, with double the number of applicants coming forward than we expected. The quality of businesses applying and the variety of ideas and innovation being presented is extremely impressive and we look forward to the new programme now getting started and seeing the results of the programme supporting the national Agritourism Strategy targets.”

Scotland's new agritourism monitor farm awards
Image © Craig Stephen