The DAIRY farmer of Mossgiel Farm in Mauchline is encouraging local farmers to apply for a programme which will allow them to receive free media training and tell their farming story on video.

Soil Association Scotland is inviting all farmers and crofters to apply to the Farmer Ambassador programme, which includes a day’s video training and one-to-one follow up session with broadcast journalist Anna Jones and self-shooting director Alex Price.

Bryce Cunningham, of Mossgiel Farm, uses social media to promote his family farm’s environmental production values and recently appeared on BBC’s The One Show talking about direct selling during lockdown.

Bryce said: “Food production is too important for people not to know about it, and people are getting genuinely interested. As farmers we haven’t been great at telling our stories to the public and we need to step out of our comfort zone.

“I truly hope that the benefit of COVID is that people appreciate what’s being grown and produced on their doorstep, and making people think about that is part of it. We need to get people to use the pound in their pocket to back British farmers.”

Eight farmers will learn how to shoot and edit video on their phone or tablet with training taking place online in late July.

They will also understand what makes a story and how to tell it and gain confidence in sharing their story with the public.

Aoife Behan, Director of Soil Association Scotland, said: “During the pandemic we have seen people becoming increasingly interested in where their food comes from.

“We want to shine a light on those farmers that are doing brilliant work to produce nature-friendly food by helping them tell their story.

“We think it will be good for their business too.”

To apply visit bit.ly/FarmerAmbassadorScot

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