What The Scottish Farmer does

The Scottish Farmer is a privately held, Scotland-focused agricultural media title operating continuously since 1893 and currently owned by Newsquest Media Group Ltd, a UK regional newspaper network. Its core product is a digital news website at thescottishfarmer.co.uk, accompanied by a digital edition, email newsletters, classifieds, a jobs board, a Shopify-based merchandise store, and a photo-sales service; print is implied historically though the current emphasis is digital-first publishing. The platform is built on standard publishing infrastructure — Piano for subscription management and Shopify for e-commerce — with no proprietary technology or AI components documented.

The publication serves Scottish livestock and arable farmers, agricultural contractors, rural landowners, and adjacent businesses, delivering market reports, livestock and machinery sales results, arable and agronomy news, rural affairs and political coverage, and event reporting from flagship shows including the Royal Highland Show and Lochearnhead Shears. An editorial team of approximately seven reporters plus an editor and deputy editor covers these verticals.

The business operates a hybrid B2B/B2C media model. Revenue is generated through subscription recurring revenue from digital and print editions, display advertising sold to agricultural machinery, insurance, financial services, and rural supply businesses, classified advertising and listings, Shopify-based merchandise and photo sales, and event-driven content monetization. Go-to-market is sales-led on the advertising side and self-serve/subscription-led on the reader side, with content distributed via web, email newsletters, and six social channels including Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, BlueSky, and WhatsApp.

Name

The Scottish Farmer

Legal name

The Scottish Farmer (owned by Newsquest Media Group Ltd)

Website

https://thescottishfarmer.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1893

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Subscriptions: Digital edition subscriptions and print subscriptions providing premium access to content, market reports, and livestock sales data.
2. Advertising: Display advertising sold to agricultural businesses, machinery dealers, insurance companies, financial services, and rural suppliers targeting the farming community.
3. Classifieds and Shop: Revenue from classified advertisements and e-commerce sales through their Shopify store.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Scottish Farmer is a digital and print news publication that produces and distributes Scottish agricultural journalism, including daily farming news, livestock market and auction mart reports, farm business and policy coverage, rural lifestyle features, weather, and classified advertising. It sells paid subscriptions to access premium content and operates ancillary offerings including a merchandise shop, photo sales, and job listings.

Product overview

The Scottish Farmer is a digital news publication offering comprehensive coverage of farming and agri-business news in Scotland. The core product is the website-based news platform delivering articles across multiple topic areas including livestock, arable, machinery, politics, shows, features, business/sales, diversification, lifestyle, and awards. The publication also offers supplementary content including a Digital Edition subscription, newsletters, classified ads, jobs board, and multimedia content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Digital news subscription (The Scottish Farmer website)

Quantifiable outcome

• Coverage of major Scottish agricultural events including Royal Highland Show, Lochearnhead Shears, and regional shows

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Newsquest Media Group LtdcoreOthersThe Scottish Farmer is owned and operated by Newsquest Media Group Ltd, an audited local newspaper network. The parent company provides publishing infrastructure, advertising networks, and corporate support.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Irish Farmers Journal: Ireland's leading agricultural publication covering farming news, market reports, and livestock sales. Comparable editorial model, subscription products, and livestock sale coverage, but serves the Irish market rather than competing directly in Scotland.
• Farmers Journal (Australia - Stock & Land / The Land): Australian regional agricultural publication covering livestock, crop, and rural news. Comparable editorial model and livestock sale coverage but serving Australian farmers rather than competing in the UK.
• AgriLand: Irish agricultural digital news and marketplace platform. Comparable as a vertical B2B agricultural media company with classifieds and marketplace elements, but focused on the Irish farming market rather than Scotland.

Broad incumbents

• Country Life: Iconic UK rural lifestyle publication covering countryside, property, and rural affairs. Comparable as a specialist UK rural media brand, but with a broader lifestyle and country estate focus rather than The Scottish Farmer's working-farm commercial orientation.
• British Farmer & Grower (NFU): Official publication of the UK's National Farmers' Union, covering agricultural policy and farming news. Comparable as a B2B agricultural media outlet serving UK farmers, but operated as a membership benefit of a large industry body rather than as an independent commercial title.

Direct peers

• Farming UK: Digital-first UK agricultural news and classifieds platform covering farming news, jobs, machinery, and livestock. Comparable as a digital-native B2B farming media business competing for the same advertiser and reader budgets, though lacking The Scottish Farmer's print heritage and regional depth.
• Farmers Guardian: UK agricultural newspaper and digital publication covering livestock, arable, machinery, and market prices. Closely comparable business model (advertising + subscriptions, B2B farming audience) and overlapping content categories, though with stronger English/Northern Ireland bias versus The Scottish Farmer's Scottish focus.
• Successful Farming (Agriculture.com): US-based agricultural media brand covering farming news, market data, machinery, and crop production. Comparable digital-first B2B agricultural media model with subscription and advertising revenue streams, though operating at a larger US-market scale.
• Farmers Weekly: UK's leading agricultural news publication covering farming news, market data, machinery, and rural affairs. Directly comparable to The Scottish Farmer as a subscription-based B2B agricultural media brand, but operating at a UK-wide (rather than Scotland-only) scale, making it the primary competitive benchmark.

Emerging players

• Agricultural & Farming Jobs (AgriFJ): Specialist UK agricultural recruitment and jobs platform. Comparable through overlapping classifieds and jobs marketplace functionality that competes with The Scottish Farmer's classifieds section, though focused exclusively on recruitment rather than broad agricultural news.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/scottishfarmer
• Facebookfacebook.com/scottishfarmer
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-scottish-farmer
• Instagraminstagram.com/scottishfarmernewspaper

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Scottish Farmer