The importance of community - Scotland’s agricultural revolution

In our latest podcast, rural law specialist, Karen Craig, speaks to Alan Laidlaw, CEO of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS).

Alan grew up in a rural area and as a child became fascinated with wheels, tractors and farm animals. All of these interests led him to building an illustrious career in Scotland’s rural scene. Although these areas were his original passions, he doesn’t hesitate to tell Karen that the best thing about his role at RHASS is the people.

The decision to cancel the Royal Highland Show wasn’t taken lightly and sparked discussion as to how the organisation could continue to effectively serve its members. Working from home meant that RHASS could concentrate on its other charitable work, helping to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the society’s membership.

Alan believes that the purpose of the society that he leads is to bring people together to celebrate successes, knowledge transferring and enabling continuous improvements. The past couple of years have emphasised all of these factors, and the absence of last year’s Royal Highland Show highlighted the importance of community within Scotland’s agricultural sphere. It became apparent that reigniting that connection while also facilitating innovation would be pivotal to the success of the industry.