BREXIT will affect Scottish farmers to a much greater degree than English ones because Scotland is so much more dependent on hill farming, according to a leading farmer.

Alex Ross, who was one of the leading lights in the Farming for Yes campaign, told a public meeting in West Linton in the Borders of his fears for farming and the food and drink industry in Scotland after Brexit.

Ross told the meeting, sponsored by Yes Linton: “What we are seeing now is that with us possibly exiting the EU without a deal, that is going to have a massive and disproportionate effect on direct and indirect farm support for those who farm in upland areas.

“We have to bear in mind that 85 per cent of Scottish land is classed among less favoured areas, which is precisely the opposite of the situation south of the Border.

“We are highly dependent on the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme (LFASS) which the Scottish Government is good on, and I worry that the UK Government doesn’t have a particularly good track record in looking after the upland areas.

“We only have to go back two or three years to find that Scottish upland farmers did not get their convergence uplift money that was sent from Brussels but which Westminster, as holders of the EU cards for the whole of the UK, got first – we’re still waiting on it.”

A farmer in Stranraer and author of a popular newspaper column at the other end of the country on Orkney, Ross sounded a warning that Brexit is already damaging Scottish farming, and that farmers’ attitudes had changed since the EU referendum in 2016.

He said: “There was a perception that slightly more farmers voted for Brexit than to remain, but I think it was closer to 50-50.

“I don’t think there is any doubt that there has been a shift in farmers’ attitudes since Brexit.

“The fruit-growing sector has been hit by the loss of migrant workers, but I don’t think people realise how much the dairy sector is dependent on immigrant labour coming in from the European Union.

“Fruit farming is no longer entirely a seasonal sector as it lasts nine months of the year and dairy farming is 12 months of the year, with skilled workers coming here.

“We could lose an important workforce of skilled people up to middle management level, which would be disastrous.”

Ross says which government has control of agriculture is vital, adding: “Brexit is potentially an absolutely massive game-changer for Scottish farming, and one of the things I look at with horror is the way that the UK Government’s attitude has developed about devolved powers.

“You can have Brexit, and you can have the devolution settlement, and now we are increasingly finding they cannot co-exist, which is deeply worrying.”

A spokesman for Yes Linton said: “This area is dependent on farming and farmers, so we were delighted to sponsor the event, which was attended by several members of the farming community.

“No-one could fail to be alarmed at Alec’s dire warnings about Brexit and its effects on Scottish farming.”