Resources • Food sectors
Resources

Food sectors

From sheep farming to salad leaves, find information and guidance on small scale food production of all types, grouped by sector.

Livestock

Resources for farmers raising livestock for meat, dairy, eggs, or for breeding stock etc.

Cattle in a field in the evening

Cattle

From initial registering your herd through to the final product packaging and labelling.
Small herd of dairy cows

Dairy cows

Keeping cattle for dairy production carries additional responsibilities beyond general cattle-keeping.
Sheep in a pen

Sheep

Small producers rear sheep to produce meat and other products, such as wool, and raise lambs for breeding.
Young goat in a grassy field

Goats

Small producers rear goats to produce meat, dairy and fibres.
Reddish brown chickens on the grass

Egg-laying hens

A guide to raising laying hens for egg production.
Chickens

Meat chickens

Keeping chickens for meat is popular with smallholders and crofters, and many people in Scotland keep a couple of chickens
Black Pig on Green Grass Field

Pigs

From initial registering your pigs through to the final product packaging and labelling.

Other types of produce

Market gardening, beekeeping, and other more specialised types of produce.

Close up of a beehive with many bees

Beekeeping

From establishing and managing your own apiary to harvesting and selling products.
Vegetables laid out on display

Market gardening

An overview of the fundamentals of growing and selling plants of all types on a small area of land.
Close-up of Fresh Clams

Shellfish

Shellfish farmers cultivate bivalves, like mussels and oysters, in aquaculture farms for food.
Seeds falling into a hessian sach

Seed production

Seed producers grow plants to both supply seed to farmers and crofters, and develop new varieties.