Stewart Tower was one of our first four Climate Change Focus Farms and participated in the project from 2010 to 2013.
Run by Neil and Linsey Butler, Stewart Tower is a mixed dairy and arable farm covering 160 ha near Stanley, Perthshire.
Both wheat and barley are grown for feed with some malting barley plus grass silage. The farm also has a thriving ice cream business including an ice cream parlour within the farm shop.
Neil and Linsey followed a slightly different format to the other Climate Change Focus Farmers by hosting on farm events for visitors to Stewart Tower rather than the programme of farmer meetings.
With around 30,000 to 40,000 visitors a year to Stewart Tower, it offered an excellent way to highlight to visitors the steps that Scottish agriculture is taking to reduce emissions. A range of information about Farming for a Better Climate was displayed in the farm shop, both on a notice board and as information leaflets. Display material contained information about climate change and agriculture, steps to reduce the farm carbon footprint and information on the other Climate Change Focus Farms and the steps they were considering.
Neil and Linsey also held a number of farm events to highlight measures farmers were taking and how customers could adapt some of the ideas for use at home.