LOCHMADDY, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (October, 20th) sold 355 store cattle and 9 breeding cattle.  The judge Mr James Cowie, Glasshaugh, chose a 425kg Limousin bullock as his champion and a 510kg Limousin bullock as the reserve champion both from No.   ... [more]

PORTREE, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd, (October 20th) sold 279 rams at its annual show and sale of rams.  The overall show champion and winner of the J.   ... [more]

DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (October, 17th) sold 3,936 store lambs.  Lambs (3,826) averaged £29.45 and sold to £51 gross for Suffolk crosses from No.   ... [more]

FORT WILLIAM, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (October, 16th) sold 1,673 sheep of all classes.   Lambs (797) averaged £20.34 per head and sold to £34.50 gross for Crosses from Ockle, Acharacle.   ... [more]

Heating your house or commercial property with wood as a fuel is an increasingly attractive option given the uncertainty over the future cost of oil, gas and other non renewable fossil fuels, as well as the environmental concerns over the use of such fuels..   Wood is a renewable source of energy.   ... [more]

When it comes to putting environmental plans into action, companies in the Highlands and Islands could be losing out on savings of up to £1000 per employee.   Challenges currently facing businesses including rising raw material and energy costs, customer expectations and environmental legislation will be discussed at the free Envirowise events held in Wick, Inverness, Fort William and Elgin from 28-31 October.   ... [more]

THE founder of an Oban-based marine biotechnology company - whose groundbreaking work could lead to a cure for MRSA - has been officially recognised as one of the top entrepreneurs in Britain.   Dr Andrew Mearns Spragg, chief executive officer of Aquapharm Biodiscovery Limited, was one of the five regional finalist candidates, in the science and technology sector, to win a place in the national finals of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards.   ... [more]

STORNOWAY, Dingwall and Highland Marts Ltd., (October, 14th) sold 100 weaned calves and 15 adult head of breeding cattle.  Bullocks (48) averaged 142.8p and sold to 160p per kg for a 275kg Limousin from Atlantic View, Bunavoneader, and £740 gross for a 523kg Limousin from No.   ... [more]

The Caithness Chamber of Commerce has been reinvigorated thanks to a cash injection from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).   The funding will be supporting a new Chamber which now plans to appoint a Chief Executive to lead the Chamber forward to ensure a single voice for the Caithness business community and bring individual groups together under one umbrella organisation.   ... [more]

Scottish Enterprise (SE) in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) are launching the successful Rural Leadership Programme (RLP) for the third consecutive year.  Recruitment is taking place immediately, with the programme running throughout the winter/spring of 2008/09 and a follow up conference completing the programme to take place in early summer 2009.   ... [more]

Farmers disposing of spent sheep dip will save money this year, after the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) waived the second instalment of its annual groundwater licence charge.   The move is one of the first tangible benefits to emerge from Scotland's Environmental and Rural Services (SEARS), a new partnership between the Scottish Government and agencies such as SEPA.   ... [more]

The Pure Energy Centre (PEC) in Unst, Shetland is growing globally, helping to put the Shetland Islands on the map for innovative renewable energy and hydrogen developments.   The PEC grew from the Pure Energy Project set up by the Unst Partnership and has seen the development of the first community-owned off-grid renewable hydrogen system in the world.   ... [more]

DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (October, 15th) sold 1,709 weaned calves at their special annual district ballot show and sale.   The judge, Mr R.   ... [more]

Relight your business spark and fire your business forward Fusion, the organisation which encourages entrepreneurship in the Highlands and Islands, is hosting its annual conference "Light Your Fire" 2008 at Aviemore Highland Resort on 20th and 21st November 2008 and welcomes Scotland's "curry king", Dr Charan Gill MBE, as keynote speaker.   The two day networking event aims to inspire, encourage and support Highlands and Islands businesses into generating new innovative business ideas.   ... [more]

The Scottish Government launched a new on-line contract advertising portal, Public Contracts Scotland www.publiccontractsscotland.co.uk on 1st October 2008.   This free service will be available to all Scottish public sector organisations and will be used as a one-stop-shop to publish contract opportunities.   ... [more]

Scotland's biggest manufacturer of gold and silver jewellery is marking the run up to Christmas by launching eight new collections and opening two new stores.   Ortak has recorded sales of just under £5 million since January, a 9.7% increase compared to the same period last year.   ... [more]

DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (October, 14th) sold 54 prime cattle.  Prime bullocks (21) averaged 160.5p (-2.8p) and sold to 172p per kg and £1,097.25 gross.   ... [more]

COMMUNITIES IN HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS URGED TO APPLY FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT FUNDING Rural community groups in Highlands and Islands are invited to come forward to apply for funding to support and grow the rural economy, Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said today.   A total of £19.2 million 'convergance' funding for regional development has been awarded to seven Local Actions Groups (LAGs) in the Highlands and Islands in recognition of its previous status as a disadvantaged and remote area.   ... [more]

A survey of over 300 bus users in Caithness was carried out during this summer by Caithness Partnership in conjunction with Stagecoach and showed that Caithness people felt the service could be improved with more frequent buses and better timetabling, better access to vehicles for less physically able people and more services in the rural areas of the county.   Caithness Partnership Bus Passenger Survey in Conjunction With Stagecoach in Caithness Question 1 On Average how often do you use your local bus service? Few Times per week 96 Less Often 77 Few Times per month 66 Never 60 Daily 47 Not disclosed 11 Total Number Responses 357 Question 2 What prevents you from using the bus more often? Don't operate at suitable times 139 Don't serve where I need to travel to/from 87 Happy with local bus services 69 Buses not comfortable 66 Buses not reliable 59 Not aware of appropriate services 57 Fares are too expensive 52 Not wheelchair/buggy friendly 39 No response 22 Other Comments 3/4 mile from bus stop no need to travel on bus No evening or Sunday buses in county Disabled steps too high, would travel if I could get on them Steps in most buses creates a great and dangerous disadvantage to the elderly and disabled.   ... [more]

With continuing exceptional instability in the global financial markets, the Government is today taking decisive action, by implementing the comprehensive set of measures it announced on 8 October, to make commercial investments in UK banks and building societies to help stabilise their position and support the long term strength of the economy.   The overall aim of these measures is to support stability in the financial system; to protect ordinary savers, depositors, businesses and borrowers; and to safeguard the interests of the taxpayer.   ... [more]