Last 15 of July the summer Scottish Apple Producers (SAP) get together for 2023 took place at Megginch Castle in Errol with a record attendance of over 20 members.
The meeting started with a war welcome to all the new members and brief introduction of the groups work to date, followed by a guided tour around the heritage orchards and closed with tea and coffee in the walled garden where we had a warm farewell to our dear Amanda Brown who was leading the group until this summer.
The SAP Group first came together in 2016 to discuss the orchard sector in Scotland, as there is a strong belief that commercial orchards could be rejuvenated as they offer opportunities for good farm management and new income for farmers; with the years and events lately it became clear that orchards also had key roles to play in biodiversity support and as part of agroforestry systems and regenerative agriculture.
Growers, farmers, and other apple-minded people in attendance shared the common believe in the need to have a coordinated approach to the sectors knowledge transfer, R&D, funding opportunities and network and peer learning, which are some of the main objectives of the group.
The groups website will be available soon after a refresh to contain updated information from the members in regional areas for anyone interested to get in touch as well as valuable resources for technical guidance in apple production, heritage orchards and upcoming events form the apple community.
If you are interested in taking part of the group a and other apple-related activities, there is a “Holyrood Apple day” on the 5th of October (for the 15th year!) where the Wee Apple Awards will be celebrated, to learn more about the group and RSVP to the event get in touch with patricia.rojas@saos.coop.
