The Royal Northern Spring Show - a great start to the Scottish farming calendar

The beginning of March meant it was once again time for the first major event in Scotland’s farming calendar: the Royal Northern Spring Show.

Held annually at Thainstone Mart, Inverurie, and organised by the Royal Northern Agricultural Society (RNAS), this year’s event saw a visit from the society’s patron, HRH The Princess Royal.

The shows and sales were full of activity, and our team was out and about throughout the day. We were lucky to have such a lovely sunny day to explore everything on offer, and see some of the record-breaking sales. www.anmgroup.co.uk/news-detail.cfm/ID/1060?

Voluntary land registration

As always, our office doors were open, and we welcomed many a visitor over the threshold for a cup of tea and a good chat, proving once again that the show is a great opportunity to have a catch-up and some fine pieces!

One of the hot topics of the day was the voluntary registration of land in the Land Register of Scotland.

Having clearly defined boundaries on an up-to-date, registered plan can be very useful for the day-to-day management of the farm.

For example, by moving from the older General Register of Sasines, which dates back to 1617 and is the world’s oldest national record of land ownership, to the precise digital map in the modern Land Register of Scotland, you can clarify your boundaries and ensure that they are easily and quickly identifiable.

And because this precision makes any sale of land much more straightforward, voluntary registration could reduce future transaction costs too.

What’s more, many of our clients are understandably seeing the 25% discount currently available on registration fees as an incentive.

Allan Collie’s retirement

It was certainly one of our busiest Royal Northern Spring Shows that anyone in our team can remember and, as such, was a fitting send off for our colleague, Aberdeen-based partner Allan Collie, who retires at the end of this month.

Allan is extremely well known and respected throughout the farming industry, and is a Law Society of Scotland-accredited specialist in agricultural law. We’re delighted to say he will stay on with the firm as a consultant.

Next stop, Ingliston

If you didn’t manage to pop in during the show, and want to discuss anything from a potential farm sale to voluntary registration, please get in touch. A member of our team is always on hand on a Friday at our Thainstone office.

Alternatively, we would be pleased to arrange a meeting with you at our Aberdeen office.

Following the success of the spring show, we are all already looking forward to our next big event, the Royal Highland Show on 22 - 25 June at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston.

We hope to see you there.