Scottish farmers have borrowed over £1bn this year, equivalent to half the value of the nations agricultural output.

Borrowing has been high before, but what worries farmers leaders and local council chiefs is this time the cash is paying for day to day survival not investment.

It is an indication of the nature of the crises facing rural Scotland where 30% of the population live and work.

A report just published in the south west of Scotland (on October 22nd) warns Dumfries and Galloway will lose 1300 full time farming jobs and 500 in the support sector in the next five years.

Meanwhile to the north in Shetland a transport initiative designed to help island sheep farmers ferry their old breeding females to markets in Aberdeen has fallen foul of EU regulations.

There is still a risk that 20,000 caste ewes will have to be shot and buried on the islands before the winter.

Every sector is struggling

There have been tough times before but the unusual feature this year is that every sector is struggling, with the shock waves rippling up and down the supply chain in an industry where each part relies heavily on another.

A cold wet season means harvest is still unfinished in some areas.

Yields and grain quality are poor.

20,000 ewes on Shetland may be shot by winter

With profitability already depressed by world prices and the strong pound many east coast arable farmers stayed away from traditional autumn sheep sales, declining to buy lambs for fattening through the winter.

The lack of buyers has had devastating effects on hill farmers in the west who rely on the "store lamb" trade for their main income.

Debts of £10m

In the NE Scotland's largest pig farmer has gone under with debts of £10m.

A quarter of the country's pig herd disappeared as did the market for 15,000 acres of cereals produced by local farmers.

Those pig farmers remaining are suffering heavy losses.

Scottish beef may be winning better prices than in England but the Scottish industry needs desperately to get back into the quality export markets it once dominated.

Since BSE and the beef export ban supermarkets have exploited to the full their dominance in the only market available to home producers.

Meanwhile one major auction mart. is reporting a £14 million drop in turnover so far this and others are shedding senior staff.

Calls for support

Now Scottish NFU President George Lyon has called for Prime Minister Tony Blair to back cross party calls for industry help.

He claims with present incomes at zero, £500m has been wiped out of the Scottish economy in three years.

George Lyon has repeated his warning to the Government that the first test of their policies comes next spring with elections to the Welsh assembly and the Scottish Parliament and rural issues will feature in both polls.