Like I said, we've been growing mushrooms since 2003 and from the very get-go, the whole story was substrate acquisition. So those are my two keywords for you all today. For the mushroom grower, that is the most important thing. It's what I worry about at night, so I lay awake sleepless at night, finding the substrate to grow my mushrooms on. In 2003 we started growing on straw and then we, you know, then we couldn't find good straw. So then we go with the wood and we started growing on wood and that worked okay. But in 2011 I started working with these investor folks from Colorado who said, we want to grow mushrooms on Colorado substrate and we're going to send you some substrates of trial, would you trial them for us. And so they started sending sunflower shells waste from Urca Grain and Fort Morgan. They started sending the shell waste to us and we started trialing it. And well, it was just almost like a miraculous thing. I mean, I felt like I'm actually, when that happened, I felt like, you know, the sunflowers were like the best, they were like, this is really like my life is going, just turning around here. And because organisms that weren't growing very well for us were growing on 100 percent sunflower shell. I mean, it was just really, I mean, this stuff's been in the literature kind of here and there, but generally mushroom growers grow mushrooms on wood. And so everything was going fine. The Colorado investors got bored and they backed out and we just kept buying shell from Fort Morgan from Urca Grains and that went okay for a while. We started, you know, with 50 pound bags turned into 500 pound totes and then, you know, we had to buy 12 of them at a time to get the shipping rate and everything was going pretty good. And then, you know, it's just the next word I have for you that you need to remember is change. So substrate acquisition and then the next important word is change because nothing ever stays the same.  Some of it was just really dusty. And then they would just say, oh, well, we don't, we're not even shelling it now. We're not even milling it now because we're sending it all whole to our customers and not even milling it. And so it was just always something. And so by that time, I was, it was too late because I was already hooked on the sunflower and I just really couldn't get enough. I was like, well, what am I going to do?  And so I thought, well, maybe I can find some sunflower growers in Kansas. Well, they all live out in Western Kansas. And then the mills out there, you know, they didn't want to talk to me at all. And so what any self-respecting farmer would do next would be, I'm just going to do it myself. We'll just grow it ourselves. So my mushroom, the guy that helps me coner, we got together and we thought through and we thought, well, why don't we just apply for a serigrant? And we had three questions we wanted to answer by getting the serigrant. Was that could we grow our own substrate economically? Could we grow our own substrate and have it yield as well as what we've been using? And then the third question was, could we find a crop that we could sell for food to a human and then have a waste that so the farmer could get double sales, they could sell their crop to for human consumption and have this waste that I would guarantee them, that I would pay them, you know, whatever price we agreed upon. And so the answers to those three questions are yes, yes, and maybe. So here's a picture of our sign. Next, that's our, that's my main mushroom facility and over here on the, on the right is my hoop house. That's a government-funded hoop house, the federal plan they give you hoop houses. But I never grew, I never grew vegetables or plants in there. It's a substrate hoop house now, it's where I dry all my substrate. The next building over here is my autoclave room. This is a grow room right here and it's attached to this greenhouse right here. So if you know anything about mushrooms, mushrooms use oxygen and give off CO2. So my mushroom room is exhausting into my greenhouse all winter. So I'm pumping 60 degree CO2-rich moist air into this greenhouse all year. So it's really, I mean, that's a great thing for my plants. And then you'll see in the front here, here's my compost pile. So all the substrate ends up in the compost pile eventually. And there's what we plant the sunflower with, we bought this. We didn't have this the first year, but we, we had, we bought this for the second year. For the grant, we decided to focus on two plants and that would be corn and sunflower. And so this is a three-person grant and I was the mushroom grower, Connor was going to be the corn grower and this other guy was going to be the sunflower grower. Well, right away the sunflower grower said, oh, I'm just not going to grow them. Well, he actually didn't tell me, he just, I had to call him. I thought you wouldn't be reimbursed for the seed, oh, I just didn't grow it. And so this is June. So I just decided once again, I guess I'll just have to grow them myself. And so what was a bad situation turned out to be really the best thing that ever happened to me because I got to learn about the sunflower plant like I never would have if I'd had someone else growing it for me. And so I discovered some really important things. But anyway, the first year we, Connor grew three acres of corn. I ended up growing six-tenths of an acre of sunflower. I mean, it was already June and I just put it in by hand. But right from the get-go, I discovered that the sunflower was easier to grow. It sprouts better compared to the corn. It needs less fertility. It can get by with less water. I would really put my sunflower against any weed out there. I mean, it can outgrow any weed. Doesn't anyone? It was just amazing. I mean, I just, I couldn't believe it. And so the corn was suffering from, another main thing is that, you know, when you plant corn, the main one, number one problem with the corn planting was not having the right wheel, the right seed plate for the right corn. Because I don't know if you have grown corn, but if you get the corn too close together, it doesn't make corn. And so this corn that first year was too close together a lot of times. And so that's our main number one problem. You think it would be easily solved, but I mean, that's Connor's doing the corn, I'm doing the sunflower. So I'm focusing on the sunflower. So sunflower just had many advantages. I also discovered that first year that as a sunflower head was maturing, I brought some heads here, dried heads. As a sunflower, these are really super dry. But in June, when they're green and they're maturing, and there's a point when the shell and the plant is mature, the leaves have dropped off, but it's perfectly usable for my mushrooms, but the kernel inside isn't completely formed. So in my mind, I'm thinking, I got to mill the sunflower. How am I going to mill it? Because the sunflower guy, he also, the sunflower grower, also had a mill. So we're losing his mill and we're losing his sunflower growing. So I'm buying shallow from Colorado. It's milled. How am I going to get it milled? So that is one alternative. It's like just pick it before the kernels mature. Of course, at some point, we couldn't keep up with it all. And eventually it dries like that, but the corn varieties that Connor used that first year was an organic seed from welter seeds. It was a drought resistant, just a field corn. It grew pretty well. It produced quite a bit of corn. But that third question, can you get a food item out of this? Well, a field corn, we made cornmeal with it. We made some masa with it, but it's field corn. It's not milling corn. So it was the same thing. It gave us what we wanted, lots of cob, but it didn't give us just a really inferior kernel. The other plant, the other seed that he grew for corn was a bloody butcher, which is a milling corn. And it's a corn, I don't know if you're familiar with it. It's a red corn. It grows 10 to 12 feet tall.  And it's pretty vigorous. Conor can keep the seed, raises the seed, it's over-pollinated. We were happy with that. The seed that I used for sunflower was royal hybrid 1121. And it's from Johnny's, selected seeds. I just can't say enough good things about this variety. It's just like it's a single stem. It grows seven feet tall. It makes eight-inch heads. It's super vigorous. It's fast. And so I was really happy with that. And at first year, we only had the 6 tenths of a sunflower. So I didn't really have a lot of products. I wanted to get every last bit of a shell off the heads. So we basically just scraped the shells off. You could even scrape them off, or as my employee, Michael, he just started grunting on germs like that. They're terribly brittle. So you could just practically step on them. Or as I, maybe the next thing would be get some kind of a lawn roller or something to smash them that way. So we literally just extracted every bit of shell we could. And I'll just kind of give you a brief anatomy of the sunflower head. I'm no botanist, but as far as I can tell, the sunflower head has got four parts. And that's the backing. And then you've got this hole right here that's stuck to the backing. And then you've got the shell.  And then, of course, you've got the kernel inside the shell. So in my mind, I don't want the kernel. Mushrooms don't grow on high oil, high fat. And the backing looks like styrofoam. What you want is a substrate that grabs water, but lets it go, too, and drains it. So the hole is kind of a silicone-y type of material. I figured it would probably be OK. We're just scraping it off. It's coming along for the ride. So the very first year we scraped this off. The yields for this, 11.21, are listed at 1,800 pounds per acre. But half of that's kernel and half of that's shell. So with me scraping off all that extra hole, and then I weighed it and extrapolated it out, what it would be per acre, I got 40% more weight just by bringing the hole along with the shell. So already I was getting a higher yield, so I was happy with that. That was the first year. The second year, we went from 6 tenths of an acre to four acres of sunflowers. So you might be asking, well, how'd you get those sunflower heads off of the plant? Well, you just take the clippers and go out and cut them. I mean, I was told that if I was going to use a combine, it would take a half an acre just to fill the combine up. So if I'm combining two acres, I mean, it's all scale, a matter of scale. And so what do you do with the kernels? How did you get them? What's that? What do you do with the seeds? The kernels? Oh, well, I'm just going ahead and using them. You're just leaving them in there. Yeah, because I mean, when I get the shell from the mill, it's about 25% kernel anyway. And there's really just like it's a matter of necessity. I just can't really, I mean, I just have to try something first and see if it works. And then if it doesn't work, go on. But yeah, you could take this shell and then put it through a chipper shredder and break it like a mill and then soak it in water and then the kernel drops. And after about an hour, you can just skim off all the shell and all the kernel goes to the bottom. Then you can just dump that water out and it's like for every 40 gallon tub, there was like a half a gallon of kernel in there. So it's good chicken food. And the birds like it. But I just left them in. That first year, we just scraped and used them. The second year, I got four acres of them. Still the cutting, the harvesting isn't too bad really. And really, I figured out four acres of sunflower. We spent on the average of five hours a week cutting them down. And that was over the course of four months. It's really a very advantageous job. If you know anything about vegetable farming, most vegetables are on the ground. So this is like seven feet tall. You're not stooping. Just drive your truck out there, turn the radio on and start filling tubs of sunflowers. So you don't use the stocks. No, but I brought some because I'm thinking about it. But that's another matter. So that second year, I'm going, what are we gonna do? Take a scrape all this shell off of four acres worth of stuff. And so in the back of my mind, I'm always thinking, I just like to take these heads and just send them right through my chipper shredder. And then see what happens. So that's what I did. So the second year we trialed and I actually broke the shell off just like this, pounded it off and that was one farm shell. Then there was farm shell pounded and farm shell chipped. So I'm trying to see, get rid of the back of the head to see if that's a problem. Will the farm shell pounded work better than the chipped? So, but I think that if you're gonna, if you're going to say an 1,800 pounds per acre and you just use the whole head, I think you've doubled your weight. So that 1,800 pounds per acre, I think be using the whole head, I'm probably up to at least 3,000 an acre. Yield of mushrooms from the substrates. You're measuring the yield of the mushrooms. Yeah, so that's for trials. So that's on your page here. You can look on the bottom of that page there. You can see we did four organisms. So for the trial part, I wanted to, I know how much variation there is in producing mushrooms. I mean, if you just have some bad spot or the fruiting room isn't right or the substrate isn't right or maybe the sterilization process wasn't good, you gotta keep everything constant to really be able to measure something and compare. So this whole trial took me a little bit longer because I wanted to take each organism through the process all the same time and then hold all the parameters constant, except one thing and that was what substrate it was. And so we held the organ to the constants where it was the same organism. They all used the same spawn, the same spawn type. They all went through the sterilizer at the same time. They all used the same amount of spawn in each bag and then they all were ran together through the incubation room and then put into the fruiting room at the same time so I could eliminate any kind of like, well, this produced better because for some other reason. So I tried to hold all the constants the same. We could just go right to those results if you wanted to. They're there on the bottom of your page and there's four organisms. Each organism got six different kinds of substrate and each type of substrate got 10 bags. So this is like a fruiting bag here. So all in all, I did 240 bags. So, oh, you know, we could go to have this first one. Po-Hoo, that was done the first year when we still had Urca Shell. So each organism also had a control which was like the substrate that I would normally use for that organism just to try and give me some kind of reference of what I would get. Well, Po-Hoo is your first one. That's the oyster. And while the Urca Shell, it says here, it made one point seven pounds per block. I don't believe that. But the Farm Shell didn't do as well. So I was going through the grow room today and I decided, well, by God, that Urca grain isn't gonna show me up any. So I found this bag that I'm going through the grow room today and I write on the bags that I write the organism and the date. And this is a bag that's got 40% chipped Farm Shell in it. And it's from the seventh. Usually it takes me two to three weeks to get to the fruiting point. This is 12 days. That is insane. And I thought I'd just rip the bag open to show you that I could get a pound off of this block too. Just like the other bags. But you can see it's just ringed with primordias. All these are gonna become big mushrooms. So this block will easily make three quarters to a pound on the first flush.  So it's easy enough to keep track of the 10 blocks when they go into the fruiting room. And then when you start doing second flushes, you gotta keep track of them. And it was really difficult to keep track of each variety after they left the fruiting room and went into second flushes. So that's what I think happened here is that the Colorado Shell probably was more broken down. And that's why the oyster was able to utilize it better. Thus making more mushrooms. Organism two is shiitake. And we just had this gut feeling that corn cob is gonna be a good substrate for shiitake. And if you look on there, number one was 50% cob, 50% sawdust. It made three quarters of a pound per block, which is pretty good. It did better than the control block in number four. And, but then when we combined the cob and the shell down in five and six, we saw less production. So I'm not sure. That's another one of those things. I don't think that's right. There's all these other variables I didn't even take into account. Like when you soak the substrate, corn cob is like totally, it's just like hydrophobic. It's like you have to really soak it a long, long time. And so it could have been that five and six, the cob didn't get soaked as much. There's other reasons why. But I'm pretty happy with that. We feel like, I mean, really 50% cob, 50% sawdust, three quarters of a pound for the first block, that's profitable. And sawdust is, well, if you look on the other part of your page there, you'll get the comparable prices of different kinds of substrates. And sawdust is costing me about eight cents a pound. So who wouldn't wanna make something with something else that was a lot cheaper? Because that's really how I'm gonna keep my cost down is keep the price of the substrate down. What kind of sawdust? Well, it's sawdust. What's that? What kind of sawdust? What kind of sawdust? Well, I have a little container right over there. It's sawdust that is the biggest particle size sawdust or the smallest wood chip that you could find. So it's gotta be like, it looks like very, very small wood chips or very big sawdust. So it can't be fine. It's gotta, all substrate is about this. It's gotta have fluff. It's gotta be able to grab the water, let the water out, and then not be soggy. So you don't want something that's just gonna mash down and all the oxygen gets pushed out. So it's very special. I worked hard and long and hard. It comes from near Ms. Springfield, Missouri. I have to buy 21 tons at a time. It showed up a month ago in the middle of the night. And I found out because he came knocking on the door saying he was stuck. That's a whole other story. Anyway, we're pretty happy with the Shataki FarmShell Chipped, which is what I'm sending just whole heads right through the chipper shredder, which is what I'm rooting for anything on this sheet. It's a rooting for FarmShell Chip because that's cheap for me to make. It's easy to run through the chipper shredder. So that's what I'm rooting for. So I mean, that did very well. Shataki FarmShell Chip did a whole pound per block. So I'm happy there. These last two organisms, Black Poplar and Horisium, I mean, they're the ones that we couldn't really get good yields on wood. And when we finally got the Sunflower Shell, they were growing, doubling their production on straight Sunflower Shell. So that's what I really wanted to check these two out. And I think that the FarmShell Chip did roll well. It did better than the Cobb on Black Poplar and did better than the control. And here on Black Poplar, both the Cobb, FarmShell combo did better. And the Horisium was the same. I thought FarmShell Chip did pretty well there. It was one of the highest ones. So as for these two, Black Poplar and Horisium, there are more odd ball varieties that don't produce well to begin with. And even six-tenths of a pound per block is a good yield. So my strategy now for planting sunflowers in four acres is that, well, what happened is that between year one and two, I'm in my substrate hoop house. And I'm noticing that the sunflowers are sprouting for more they're laying on the ground, you know. And it's 10 degrees outside and this is an unheated hoop house. And then I had some of my salad covered in row cover and I look at anything and the sunflower looks better than the kale.  And so I'm thinking, well, how can I get rid of this milling and all this picking, you know, all at one time? And so, you know, my goals have the sunflower substrate as long as I can throughout the year. So that means if I plant it sooner, I'm gonna have it sooner in the summer. So, I mean, this year I planted it last week of February and it sprouted and then it went through some cold time and it still was alive, but it looked peaked. So it turned out probably the third week of March is the time. And so, and they've consistently gone through 23, 24 degrees. I don't know, the guys around us, the farmers, when we got advice, I said, don't plant until the first of July to get rid of the weevil. So, I mean, to me, that was like huge information that I can plant it early and goes through the frost. It's better than corn in that regard because the corn, we're trying to use untreated seeds, so we're gonna plant the corn until June, you know. So, I can plant the corn, I can plant the sunflower now the third week of March, harvest it the first of July and then put it in that substrate hoop house, which in the summer, if you keep it closed, it can end up to like 130 in there, I'm sure, and it dries within two weeks. So, I'm using the sunflower by the middle of July. And so that, to me, that was like probably the number one thing they learned on this grant. So, that means we're harvesting from the middle of July until that we're just finishing up now, so it's four months, and so that's where I've been getting the like, it's basically coming out to be five hours a week, probably less than that even, that people are out there picking heads. So, I wouldn't say it's really that bad of a job. The other thing the sunflower has over corn is it's easier to pick. I mean, the sunflower head is right up there, you can see it, it's no question, you know, corn is like, there was so many small misshapen ears that you'd have to like almost grab the corn and feel it as a one worth picking, then you gotta go whoop, you know? So, to me, corn is a lot more difficult to pick. It was a lot more subjective, you had to be more quality-controlled then. One downside of the sunflower was that when it matures, it falls, it turns over, and then these big heads create this bowl, and then that isn't a problem most of the time, but two years ago, we had so much rain and the water just set in that upside down sunflower head, which is why people grow sunflowers in Western Kansas and irrigate them, because really it's a fine line, sunflower grows in Eastern Kansas, but you know, you get a wet September and it's, you know, you're gonna be losing a lot of kernel. Well, like I said, all this substrate ends up in the compost at one time or another. You know, that third question that we were answering about the food grade crop, even though corn doesn't work as well for getting a mushroom substrate out of it, it worked a lot better for getting a food grade crop. So Conner had a lot of bloody butcher seed for milling, he made a lot of cornmeal, we made tamales, we made masa, it really, once the corn dries down, and you know, maybe there was an earworm in there, maybe not, but it dries down, it's more stable, whereas the sunflower is, it's harder to store, and the mice, birds, there's gonna be more problems. The sunflower seed, you know, oh great, the sunflower works, I just gotta get the seed and plant it. It's not that easy. The sunflower seed comes from, well, I get it by from Johnny's selected seed, but they don't grow it, somebody else grows it. One time, Johnny's was backordered on the seed, and I kind of freaked out because it was getting close to planning time. So I called their CHS, the distributor, and I said, well, Johnny's is out of seed, don't you have some other person that you sell it through? CHS said, we don't sell it to anybody. I said, you're selling it to Johnny's, Johnny's is selling your product to me. No, I won't admit to that. I mean, it's just like, this is a private, this is such a protected seed with genetics that basically these companies don't let the seed out unless you agree and you sign a contract that you'll sell all the product back to them. Even Erker Grain out in Colorado, I called him and said, because I had a pretty good relationship with him, and I said, Joyce, why don't you just sell me enough seed for five acres? I'm trying to grow my own, so I don't have to buy it from you anymore. Can't do that. You have to argue or sign this contract so you can, so I mean, there's one seed that I found that I can use, and I've talked to a seed guy out there and he claims there's more people, but I called other seed companies, like big seed companies and got their representative in Eastern Kansas that called me back with a confection seed varieties. No one called me, they would answer the phone, but they can never get back to me because what I'm using is such an odd mouse, like I'm using, I'm buying 10,000 seeds and it's costing me $325 and that's just, nobody else is doing that. There's like a lot of home gardeners and there's people with hundreds of acres of sunflowers. And so I'm like stuck in the middle. So as long as Johnny's has got the seed, I'm just fine. But now that I'm talking about it, I think I'll go home tonight and order some more. I'll go home and order some more seed, just like stick it in the fridge and have it. There's another big advantage that the sunflower has over corn and over the milled sunflower coming from the mill in Colorado is that, once you crack that sunflower and it's milled, then it's starting to get the seed is like crack. The kernel is cracked and starting to go rancid. It's exposed and for me to get the price down in the order from Colorado, I get about a whole bunch of it. So it's just sitting there for six months going rancid. So the kernel stays fresh in the head until you get ready to use it. And so it's a nice nature zone, a little way of storing the product in there. So there's just a lot more stable in the head. Oh, okay, then I'm like, so I was like, I was talking about the cedar and I'll show you some of the sunflowers here. The very first part of the seed gets planted with a push cedar, because I'm not gonna put the cedar in my tractor and plant a 16th of an acre. So what I'm ended up doing is Earl, all the seed before June gets planted with a push cedar and they're like different parts and maybe in just little parts of my vegetable garden. It's more like a gorilla growing. I just see a spot, what am I gonna do with that? I wanna finish that field up, just put some sunflowers in. And so all the seed is getting put in with a push cedar until the main crop. And there's some pictures of our sunflower. There's a good example of a, it's kind of a constrictive little field, but I didn't do anything else with it.  There's another picture of that field. And there, that field's not very wide. It was just part of a vegetable field. There I am pounding shell with a sledge hammer. There's pictures of the different. After you pound it, you have to sift it. There's the chipper shredder over here on the right. There's the inside of my substrate hoop house. I got all these drying racks, so that's how I dry them. Stick them on those racks and they dry pretty quick. There's a sunflower that comes through the wood chipper. There's that welter seed that Connor used. It was a good variety. It made a lot of corn. It just wasn't that good for milling or for making cornmeal.  I mean, corn cob is a wonderful substrate. I'm surrounded by corn. I just know how to get the cob. Ha ha. There's how we get the shell off the corn. In America, the one on the left is how we do it because it goes from that hand-cranked one to a combine in America. And the one on the right is from Alibaba because in China, they've got all kinds of plant remains in between, like these mid-sized growers. There's some of the varieties, corn varieties. There's the wood, the asadas pile. There's a picture of the shell I get from Urca grains. Just comes in big 500-pound totes. I mean, after six months in the winter, there's multiple generations of baby mice being grown in these things. I also do other little, this is my wood lot. I actually grow, I'm growing my own wood chips.  They grow back again. And so I just keep doing that over and over again. Trees, they make better chips if they're like little trees like that rather than huge, big trees like from a tree trimmer. And more pictures of wood chips. There's how we do all, we soak up all the substrate and buckets with holes in them. So there's like 24 buckets at a time. There's some pictures of our mushrooms, how they grow there. And all these mushrooms are being grown on the sunflower substrate. There's the picture of my greenhouse on the other side of that mushroom building that where all the air is getting blown in. There's my kitchen. There's my substrate lab. So I make my own spawn, I keep my own cultures. There's the substrate lab there. There's the substrate lab waiting to be and having all the blocks inoculated. There's the autoclave. So that's how the substrate gets processed. It goes into this autoclave and gets sterilized. That boiler on the right-hand side, that's a 15 horsepower boiler. It will run two of those autoclaves at the same time if I was to have to. There it is, full. And there's the incubation room where the baggage is sitting around waiting to grow through. There's one of my grow rooms. There's my grow room in Kansas City. It's a limestone mine. Oh, that's a whole nother story. It's like organisms are growing there that I just couldn't get to grow anyplace else. It's 55 degrees and 70% humidity all year round. So we're able to grow shiitakes all summer and that's like huge for a farmer's market. I don't know, I guess that's it. Were you not able to get the cost on the corn cob? You know, Conner, Conner was saying. And I know, I keep thinking about that coming up here. And the problem was is that the corn was like, you know, got weed pressure. Then there was a time he planted it with this antique cedar. And I literally, I would drive by this little corn patch and it was like eight stocks per foot. You're gonna make corn like that. You know, so when he averaged, then he got some good corn. And so how do you average all that in? Do you just take your good corn and do that? The way I got my price was I took a field, a set field. I found out the square footage. I had one guy go out there, cut all the heads off and keep track of his hours. And then we found, as trap laid it out, how much it cost per seed, how much it cost to plant and all those things. And then the processing and that kind of, I just kind of, you know, came up with the price. So you can see that on the first year, when we were just scraping them off, it cost us 58 cents a pound. And then when I could just forget the scraping because Michael, my friend Michael did most of this work. So he was a faithful scraper that first year. And then a second year, I just sent him to the chipper and I was able to cut 20 cents off the price. And so then you can compare that to other things. Cotton seed hole is a very good substrate. You can't get it organic, really. And that's, we are certified organic. That's, so we were trying to keep everything organic. That's why the sunflower farmer dropped out most likely because he knew he couldn't grow it organically.  I mean, the corn ear room the first year was so bad. I couldn't believe it. Production from each plant. Well, like I said, that's a problem. And the oyster is one that will make multiple flushes. So how do you track it after that?  So that's, I did black poplar reason myself. So I had them in the grow room and I had them in all this, you know, each substrate kind of shelf. And then I was able to, I just left them there and then let them do second flush and then weigh that to, there's a lot of like when you're picking that stuff, you gotta have all these looking, you know, which was substrate one and two and you're trying to keep all this together. And so, yeah, I think that that's probably what happened with the oyster because you can just get multiple, multiple flushes. And my guess is that corn cob is gonna give you multiple flushes because it's so dense and hard that it's taking a long time to break down. And so, but that's a whole nother matter. You can only get second flushes during certain parts of the year when it's summer or just so many bugs. It's better to just throw them out and start over again.


I've been involved in soil microbiology or related research for roughly 30 years. And it's only been in the last, say, 10 years or maybe even less that people have actually cared what I do. A lot of this is driven simply by the interest of producers, recognition from producers that soil health is important, soil biology is important, and asking a lot of questions to the research community and are actually driving the demand for better research, more research, funding for this research. So that gives, I'd say, of all the things that actually gives me the most optimism because there's people out there besides us scientists who care. Let's face it, farming is tough right now and optimism is in short supply. So why are Dr. Mike and some of the leading innovative farmers in the country optimistic? Well the fact that soil microbes are beneficial to farm systems is not new, but this idea is gaining momentum and revolutionizing farming thanks to the soil health movement. Many no-tillers are figuring out other ways to promote their soil biology. They're using tools like crop diversity, cover crops and livestock integration. By mimicking natural systems, they're also making more money per acre. Yes, and when farmers see soil biology work for them, they are the ones that are asking the questions of the science community. These are the farmers that are optimistic and excited. You can see Mike Lehman caught the bug, no pun intended. In our second Meredith season, we want to take you on two separate but parallel journeys. On the one hand, we want you to see researchers and practitioners apply the science. They will show you that soils are living dynamic ecosystems and not just a medium to grow plants. On the other hand, we want you to meet farmers who have bought into the idea that soil health is good for their bottom line. We want you to see how they think and what they're doing. So could healthy soils become a cause for optimism? Let's find out together.


Hello everybody, welcome back to another Adobe Illustrator tutorial guys, it's been a while. This time I want to show you how to center guidelines, to use rulers, create guidelines and to center them properly. There's been a few adjustments with Illustrator lately and especially in the property board here or the property section here. And I'm just going to show you how to do this really, really quick. So the first thing I want you to do is you look at my setup here. I want you to make sure that click to hide rulers is depressed. So this is on. Similarly, underneath the guide section, there are three pieces. There's click to hide guides, click to unlock guides and click to hide smart guides. Critically it's this last one or the furthest one on the right. Click to hide smart guides. Make sure that's clicked down just like this. The next step and this is the big one. If you want to get your guidelines in the center of any document, I can create a new document just for funsies. I'm going to create 1080 by 1080. So just like a square here, going to click go ahead on that. And here we go. The next and the most important step, I'm just going to size it down here, is to hold down the command key or the control key, depending on whether or not you're on a Mac. Or, oh wait, hold on, let me follow my own stuff here first. I got to make sure that click to hide rulers is it clicked down. So again, guys, pardon me, here we go. The first and the most important step here is hold down the command or the control key. You'll see up here at the top left where everything sort of, you'll see a zero, and this is where all the numbers sort of crack down to zero. You want to hold down command or control, left click on this spot here, and then drag in. Once you start dragging in, you're going to see smart guides. In particular, you're going to see these little magenta colors, these little snaps. If you put it on the snap and you see it there, it says center, left click and let go, bang. That's it, guys. That is how you create centered guides for all of you guys that are looking to do that inside Adobe Illustrator. That's all for this tutorial. Got a lot more stuff coming up. Stay tuned. Be back soon. Cheers.


Have you ever wondered which productivity tools are the best? In our bustling world these tools have become an integral part of our day-to-day routine, helping us manage tasks, track progress and streamline work. Today, we're going to delve into an array of these tools, examining their features, weighing their pros and cons, and ultimately, determining which ones come out on top. So, are you ready to discover the best productivity tools that can change your life? Let's get started!


That concludes topical questions. The next item of business is a statement by Nicola Sturgeon on Covid-19 update. The First Minister will take questions at the end of her statement, and so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on Nicola Sturgeon. Thanks, Presiding Officer. I will give an update on the latest Covid situation and our best assessment of the current course of the pandemic. I will also follow on from last week's statement set out a proposed change to the current Covid certification scheme and our rationale for all of the decisions reached this morning in relation to the scheme. First, today's statistics, 2,527 positive cases were reported yesterday, 11.6 per cent of tests carried out. 743 people are currently in hospital with Covid-7 fewer than yesterday, and 60 people are receiving intensive care one more than yesterday. Sadly, a further 17 deaths have been reported over the past 24 hours, which takes the total number of deaths registered under this daily definition to 9,495. Once again, I say my condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one. More positively, the progress of the vaccination programme continues to be very good. 4,340,162 people have now had a first dose, and 3,940,314 have had both doses. In total, 88 per cent of all those aged over 18 are double vaccinated. In addition, 77 per cent of 16 and 17-year-olds and 58 per cent of 12 to 15-year-olds have had a first dose. In line with updated JCVI advice, we are now preparing to offer second doses to 16 and 17-year-olds. As of now, on the first, second, third and boosted doses, I am pleased to say that Scotland is still the most vaccinated part of the UK. I want again to record my thanks to everyone involved in organising and delivering the vaccine programme. Looking across Europe, we can see very clearly that the Covid situation is deteriorating again. As a result, Covid measures are being tightened or reintroduced in many countries, for example Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany and Slovakia. At the most severe end of the spectrum, Austria is now back in full lockdown and also mandating compulsory vaccination. All of this is a start reminder that the threat of the pandemic, unfortunately, is not yet behind us. Covid is continuing to force Governments everywhere to take really difficult and invidious decisions. Of course, that is also true here in Scotland. While, thankfully, we are not at this stage seeing the rapid rise in cases that others are experiencing, the situation remains precarious. Cases are on the rise to a greater or lesser extent in countries all around us, including here in the UK. We are also entering a period when, understandably, people will be socialising and mixing more than normal. Even though our position now is relatively stable compared with some other countries, we must continue to take care and we must not allow ourselves to be lulled into any false sense of security. Let me now give some more detail on the recent trends that we are seeing here. Last week, I noted that cases had increased gradually over the previous fortnight from just over 2,500 new cases a day to just over 3,000. Since then, the situation appears to have stabilised again. In the past seven days, the average number of new cases being recorded each day has fallen from just over 3,000 to just under 3,000. It has been a fall of around 3 per cent. However, there continues to be quite a marked variation between different age groups. In the over 60s, cases fell by 19 per cent, which, at least in part, is very likely to reflect the good progress of the booster programme. In the under 60s, there was only a very slight decline. A small fall in cases in those aged under 25 was almost balanced out by a very small increase in the other age bands under 60. In younger age groups, cases have been broadly static over the past week. That said, a number of different factors will be at play over the next few weeks, and the combination of those makes it quite difficult to be certain about the course that the pandemic will take over the festive period and into January. On the one hand, the booster programme will continue to gather pace and more people in younger age groups will receive their primary vaccinations, so we can expect the combined effects of vaccination to bear down on transmission, and we hope to reduce the numbers that will become seriously unwell as a result of getting the virus. On the other hand, we can expect more indoor mixing to take place as the weather gets colder and, of course, as we head towards the festive season. In addition, there is likely to be some waning of vaccine immunity, which, of course, is why booster jags matter so much. Those latter factors will increase risks of transmission. While the cases are broadly stable just now, it is also the case that infection rates remain too high and higher than we would want them to be. All of that is putting significant and sustained pressure on the NHS. In the past week, the number of people in hospital with Covid has fallen only slightly from 779 to 743, and the number of people in intensive care has risen very slightly from 57 to 60. The number of patients in hospital with Covid is still high, and the NHS is also dealing with the backlog of care that was created by earlier phases of the pandemic and, of course, the peak of the winter flu season, coupled with other winter pressures, possibly still lies ahead of us. Taking all of that into account and adding the fact that the R number is hovering at or slightly above one leads us to this conclusion. Our situation is definitely more positive than we might have expected it to be at this point, but it is still precarious. We need to get the R number back below one, and that means having in place a range of proportionate protections to keep the country as safe as possible while we continue to live as freely as possible. That is why the cabinet decided this morning to retain for a further period all of the remaining legal protections such as the requirement to wear face coverings. Subject to a change, I will set out shortly to keep in place the Covid certification scheme and also to intensify our public information campaign in the weeks ahead. I want to now set out and really emphasise today the range of protections that we judge to be essential. I want to stress that word essential if we are to navigate this winter as safely as possible and crucially without the need to reintroduce more onerous restrictions. Presiding Officer, as we approach the festive season, I am appealing afresh to everyone across the country to comply with all of those protections with renewed care and commitment to keep ourselves safe, but also to show our solidarity to those around us. Firstly, vaccination. The duty of government is to deliver the vaccine programme, especially at this stage boosters, as rapidly as possible. Right now, that is my Government's top priority. More than 1.4 million people, just over 30 per cent of the total over 12 population, have so far had a booster or third dose. Within the most vulnerable groups, 87 per cent of over 70s and 76 per cent of those at highest clinical risk already have the protection of a booster or third dose. As I mentioned earlier, we are already seeing the positive impact of boosters in the case numbers, so the programme is going exceptionally well, but we are doing everything possible and will continue to do everything possible to speed it up further. Delivering the programme as quickly as possible is, of course, the Government's responsibility, although, of course, we are reliant on and eternally grateful for the commitment of NHS workers in delivering it. The duty and responsibility, though of all of us as citizens, is to get vaccinated as soon as we are able. If you have not yet had a dose of vaccine that you are eligible for, please make arrangements to get it now. This is even more vital if you are planning to socialise at all over the festive period. If you are meeting up with loved ones and you are not as fully vaccinated as you could be, you are putting them at unnecessary risk. To be blunt, you could be putting their lives in danger. The most precious gift that we can give anyone this Christmas is to be vaccinated and also tested, which I will say more about shortly before we meet, hug or spend any time with them. If you have not had a first or second dose yet, it is not too late, so please do so now, and please also get your booster as soon as you are able. A booster jag reduces the risk of symptomatic infection by more than 80 per cent, so let me stress this. It is not just a small top-up, getting your booster is every bit as important as getting the initial vaccinations. If you are aged over 50 or are in one of the higher risk groups and are over 24 weeks from your second jag, you need to book an appointment online via NHS Inform or via the helpline. The helpline number is 0800 030 8013. If you live in many parts of the Highland area or on one of the island areas that does not use online booking, you will be contacted separately by your health board, but for everyone else, please use NHS Inform or call the helpline, and please book the booster for as soon as you are eligible, which is 24 weeks after your second dose. Do not, for example, wait until after the Christmas holiday period is over. For those aged 40 to 49 who are next in line for boosters and for 16 and 17-year-olds who will now be offered a second dose, information on booking appointments will be available very soon. Above all today, I want to reinforce this vital message to every person eligible for vaccination, including pregnant women, whether for a first, second, third or booster jag, please book an appointment without delay and get your flu jag too if you are eligible for that. Getting vaccinated does remain the single most important thing any of us can do to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our communities. You could well be saving your own life and the lives of your loved ones. You will be helping the NHS and you will be maximising our chances of getting through this winter without the need for further restrictions. The vaccine programme is the bedrock of our fight against Covid, but other protections are vitally important too. The Scottish Government will be intensifying our public awareness and information campaigns over the winter period to make sure that everyone knows what is being asked of us. When you see those ads, please take a moment to listen and remind yourself of the protections that will help to keep you and others safe. What are those other protections? Firstly, as well as vaccination, we are asking everyone to take regular lateral flow tests. We have been asking people to do that routinely twice a week. However, over the festive period, we are asking for extra effort. That next request is vitally important. On any occasion that you are socialising with others, whether that is going out for drinks or dinner, visiting someone at home or even going shopping somewhere that might be crowded, please take an LFD test before you go. If it is positive, do not go. Instead, get a PCR test and self-isolate while you wait for the result. That way, you are minimising the risk of inadvertently passing the virus on, even if you do not have symptoms. Please continue to wear face coverings on public transport in shops and when moving around in hospitality settings. That remains a legal requirement, but it is also a vital protection. A study published just last week suggested that face coverings may reduce the risk of transmission by over 50 per cent. Remember that good ventilation also reduces risks in indoor spaces, so please open windows if you have people around. Lastly, please continue to work from home whenever possible. I know that this is not always easy for workers, nor is it convenient always for employers, but it makes a difference, and it will help to navigate our way through this difficult winter period. The average number of contacts that people are having in the workplace has doubled in recent weeks, and, as we head deeper into winter, that will create an increased risk of transmission. The virus transmits as we know when people interact and when people go to work, they interact in a number of ways, including through travel, during lunch breaks and after work, so support for home working whenever possible remains one of the most effective protections that we have at our disposal just now. Let me turn now to the Covid certification scheme, which Cabinet also discussed this morning and set out the decisions that we reached and the rationale for them. For context, it is worth bearing in mind that Covid certification is far from unique to Scotland. Similar schemes are in place in many other parts of the world. In fact, in recent weeks, certification schemes have been announced, reintroduced or extended in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Northern Ireland and elsewhere. Many cover a wider range of premises than Scotland does. However, we must reach decisions based on our own circumstances, so I can confirm that the judgments that we arrived at this morning are as follows. Firstly, for at least a further three-week period, we will retain vaccine certification for the venues and events that are currently covered by the scheme. That is late night licence premises with a designated area for dancing, unseated indoor events of 500 people or more, unseated outdoor events of 4,000 people or more and any event with 10,000 people or more. Given the current state of the pandemic, it is our judgment that it would not be appropriate at this stage to remove this protection against transmission. Secondly, however, we have decided that from 6 December it will be possible to access venues or events covered by the scheme by showing either proof of vaccination as now or a recent negative lateral flow test result. When we first launched the scheme, one of its primary objectives was to help to drive up vaccination rates. That is still important, obviously, but actually projected uptake rates mean that we judge it possible now to include testing. Doing so will also ensure that the scheme remains proportionate going forward and also help our wider efforts to stem transmission through greater use of LFD tests more generally. Finally, as I indicated last week, cabinet also considered the possible extension of the scheme to a much wider range of premises, including indoor theatres, cinemas and other hospitality venues. Let me stress that this was a very, very finely balanced decision. However, I can confirm that at this stage we have decided not to extend the scope of the scheme. We have taken account of the fact that, although our situation is precarious, cases are currently stable and, indeed, slightly declining. We have considered the inevitable impact that vaccine certification has on the operation of businesses and concluded that, at this stage, extension would not be proportionate. We were also mindful of the need over the coming weeks, as I have already alluded to, of getting across the message that it is important to be vaccinated and tested ahead of socialising in any setting, including in homes and shopping centres, for example, not just in those that might be covered by a certification scheme. I said last week that we would take this decision with the utmost care, and that is what we have done. It is important to stress, however, that we must keep it as we do all possible protections under review. If our situation does deteriorate, it may yet be that extending Covid certification is a more proportionate alternative to the reintroduction of any more onerous restrictions on, for example, hospitality. We will continue to liaise closely with businesses about this and about what they must do in the coming weeks to minimise that risk. To begin to conclude, it is an understatement, I am sure, to say that all of us are sick and tired of this virus and the impact, although less than in previous months, is nevertheless still having on our lives. I understand that, indeed, I share that sentiment, but I am also deeply grateful for all of the sacrifices that everyone has made and continues to make. Thanks to those sacrifices, we are in a much stronger position now than I would have dared hope for just a few weeks ago. However, I can emphasise strongly enough that our position is still precarious. The next few weeks pose risks, cases are rising in countries around us, and the festive period will bring more travel and more socialising. Of course, that is to be welcomed. We all desperately want a more normal Christmas than was possible last year, but we must, all of us, take sensible proportionate measures to reduce the risk of a new year hangover of surging cases, more pressure on the NHS and an inevitability of renewed restrictions. We can all play our part in avoiding that. To everyone watching, my request in a nutshell is as follows, and please pass this on to your friends and family as well. This is what all of us—government, businesses and individual citizens—must do together as part of a social compact to keep each other as safe as possible and allow us all to live as freely as possible. Over the next crucial weeks, please wear your face coverings and follow all advice on hygiene and ventilation. Wash your hands and surfaces and keep windows open when you have people around. If you have eased up on this recently, as I know many of us will have, now is the time for all of us to tighten up again. Work from home if you can. If you think that you could be working from home and you are not, raise this with your employer. To employers, please facilitate home working for a bit longer, as far as possible. To all of you, make sure you get any and all vaccine doses that you are eligible for, including flu. For my part, I will continue to make sure that the Government keeps rolling out the vaccination programme just as quickly as possible. Finally, on any occasion that you intend to socialise or mix with people from other households, whether that is in a pub, a restaurant, a house or a shopping centre, do an LFD test first. If it is positive, do not go, self-isolate and get a PCR test instead. Government has made sure that you can order those tests free through NHS Inform or get them at a local test site or pharmacy. If you do not have them already, it is now is the time to order some and keep your supply topped up over the next few weeks. All of those precautions really matter. They are part of our social compact. They will help to protect us and all of those around us. They will help us to protect our NHS and all of those working so hard on its front line right now. I ask everybody across the country to stick with those protections so that we can, I hope, have a much more normal Christmas but do so without jeopardising our prospect of a much brighter new year as well. The First Minister will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I intend to allow around 40 minutes for questions after which we will move on to the next item of business. I would be grateful if members who wish to ask a question were to press their request to speak buttons now and I call Sandesh Gulhane. I would like to begin by encouraging absolutely everyone who can do so to go out and get their Covid-19. The vaccine is our best protection against this virus as we enter the most difficult Christmas that Scotland's NHS has ever faced. We also welcome that the booster-jag scheme has been expanded and I would like to thank all the fantastic front-line staff who helped to make this roll-out a success. Even with numbers already vaccinated, we are hearing examples of people who are being forced to travel long distances to get the jag and people waiting long hours in the cold and rain. We have called for the reopening of mass vaccination centres to help speed up the roll-out. The First Minister said that she would consider it but will she today finally back that call? It is also welcome that the vaccine passport scheme is not being extended, but the uncertainty that this Government has left hanging over businesses for the past two weeks has been unnecessary and unacceptable. The Scottish Government released its so-called evidence paper on Friday, yet in almost 70 pages it was unable to offer clear proof of the scheme's effectiveness. It seems more and more likely that it is making it up as it goes along. Businesses are scunnerd, making them wait even longer to hear if they will be facing extra costs and added burdens in the weeks before Christmas, which is a slap in their face. Those businesses are not crying wolf as an SNP MSP claims. They are raising legitimate concerns. The First Minister's statement says that we will continue to liaise closely with businesses about this, but almost every business group from the Scottish Chamber of Commerce to the Federation of Small Businesses to the Scottish Beer and Pub Association have problems with the scheme. When is the First Minister actually going to listen to Scotland's businesses? Finally, the Covid app south of the border has the capability of registering a booster jag. The Scottish Government decided to develop their own app at an estimated cost as high as £4.5 million. When exactly will Scotland's app display booster vaccination status? The member says that we are quote making it up as we go along. We are not doing that. We are trying to take the best, most balanced, most proportionate judgments as we go, not always getting it right. I have said all along, and a situation as complex and unprecedented as this mistakes and errors of judgment will be made, and I will always be candid about that. However, if we are making it up as we go along, where it is taking us right now—and I am not complacent—is to a position where we have the lowest infection rates in the United Kingdom and the highest vaccination rates in the UK. I suspect that, perhaps along the way—I have been told from a sedentary position that we wanted the highest—there have been a couple of periods in which we have had the highest rates, but overall throughout this pandemic we have a lower infection rate than any other part of the UK. Everybody is grappling with a difficult situation. We are all taking difficult decisions, but we are taking those decisions in the interests of keeping the country as safe as possible. Let me briefly address the detail points on the issue of the booster programme. Our booster programme is going exceptionally well. We are looking every day at how we accelerate the pace and progress of that further. We are using the available workforce as effectively as possible. At the moment, our judgment is that the way that the programme is being delivered is the correct way. Of course, we keep open-minded to other approaches. It is worth noting that mass vaccination clinics, although they have played an enormously important part in the programme in previous phases, also had the highest do-not-attend rates of all the settings in which we did vaccination, I think, if memory serves me correctly. We are progressing with the vaccination programme and will continue to take those judgments based on best considerations. It is the biggest, most complex vaccination programme ever conducted—that is true, I am sure, for all countries. There will be issues and problems with it, and we will address those problems as far as we can, as quickly as we can, when they arise, to make sure that it is not just happening quickly, but that it is as accessible and as convenient for people accessing it. I want to thank everybody who is delivering it and everybody who has so far come forward for vaccination. On Covid certification, I think that it is absolutely right that we have the system in place right now that is in place. Equally, it is right now that we have vaccination rates at a certain level to move it to a situation in which it is open to testing as well as vaccination or as an alternative to vaccination. We were right to consider extending it further, and we are right to keep that under review in the face of this virus. The most foolish thing that any Government could do is rule things out before we have the evidence of that. It is always difficult to draw lines between cause and effect with a virus, but sometimes we have to use common sense about what does reduce transmission and what has been proven to be successful in reducing transmission. Lastly, on the issue of the Covid app, as I said last week, we are doing work right now to include boosters in the app. The reason, of course, why we developed our own app was that we were told by the Department of Health south of the border that to be part of the English app, which we explored initially perhaps doing, would take 12 months. Against the virus, we do not have 12 months, so that is why we moved ahead to develop our own app, and I think that that was the right thing to do. I start by sending my condolences to all those who have lost a loved one. The virus has not gone away and we must redouble our efforts to make sure that we are coming through this pandemic together. From the start of this pandemic, the World Health Organization and experts have been clear that the most effective way to reduce transmission of the virus is testing, but when the Government lost control of the pandemic, it was determined to be seen to be doing something rather than doing the right thing, so the Government chose to pursue vaccine passports. We know that the vaccine works, it reduces deaths, it reduces hospitalisations and it reduces incidents of long Covid, but the First Minister talks about common sense. That includes knowing that even if you have had the vaccine, you can still get the virus and you can still spread the virus. The most important way to reduce transmission is having a negative test. Now, with winter fast approaching, the First Minister says that we are in a precarious situation. We have spent months pursuing the incorrect priority. The Government's own evidence shows that there is no real evidence of an increase in uptake of the virus. At the same time, we have seen that transmission has not fallen. In actual fact, transmission is up. We have wasted that time, so I welcome the change to include a negative test from now on, but frankly we are in this position because the Government could not accept that it was wrong and move in the right place. Despite the warnings from the World Health Organization, medical professionals and public health experts, some of the experts who the First Minister likes to selectively quote, and also despite the warnings of businesses. Now that we have accepted that we have done the wrong thing, let us focus on testing, but let us also look at where we are getting the biggest rises in transmission. The largest increase in cases is in the 0 to 18-year-olds, those that are not included in the Covid vaccine scheme. Within that, the largest increase is from 5 to 11-year-olds. That is because there is a spread of the virus in our schools, and that is directly linked to a lack of adequate levels of ventilation and virus protection. Asking pupils to open the windows is in itself not a way of reducing transmission or adequate levels of ventilation, particularly as we head into the winter months. What urgent support is the First Minister going to give those schools so that we can have adequate levels of ventilation? We know that the effectiveness of the vaccine reduces after six months of the second dose. There are more than 800,000 people who are past the six months and who have not yet received their booster. What urgent action are we taking to make sure that all those people have adequate levels of protection as we head into the winter months? First, on vaccination certification, I think that Anasaharys is fundamentally wrong. I think that the error that he makes is to suggest that you can just always pick one thing over another and not at different stages have a combination of things. In the early stages of the vaccine certification scheme, one of the primary objectives was to drive up vaccination rates. Well, he says that it did not work. Vaccination rates went up. We are now the most vaccinated part of the entire UK. Self-evidently, we have increased vaccination rates. Had we at an earlier stage included testing as an alternative, we would have undermined the central primary objective of the scheme. As we have got vaccination rates up and we move into a different phase, we include testing. Anasaharys oversimplifies things to the point where, in my view, it is dangerous if we had followed the advice that he would have been given us over the past number of weeks. In terms of his other points about testing, we are testing extensively and we will continue to do that through PCR tests and, of course, increasingly, I hope, through LFD testing. Transmission has been falling from the latter of the two peaks that we experienced over the winter. That is a good thing. We now again have the lowest infection rates in the UK, although we are not complacent about that. We have got to use all of those tools and all of those levers and, as smart and nuanced a way as possible, to bear down overall on transmission. Right now, that combination of things that we are doing is effective. What we have got to ask ourselves is whether it will continue to be effective as the other risks accumulate over the winter, and that is what we have got to be vigilant about. If it was the case that we were simply saying to schools to open windows and that was all, then Anasaharys might have a point. However, of course, we have invested with local authorities in carbon dioxide monitors and assessments of ventilation in schools so that local authorities can take steps to improve ventilation. We are doing similarly with businesses. Last week, I confirmed the opening of a £25 million scheme to help businesses to improve ventilation, so we are doing all of those things. We will continue to do all of those things and I suspect that the one thing that will stay consistent is that the Opposition will continue to oppose all of those things that we are doing to stem transmission. Alex Cole-Hamilton Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. For two months, the Scottish Human Rights Commission has been asking for the scientific evidence base. Behind the assertion of the Scottish Government made again today that vaccine passports prevent transmission. We got that evidence paper on Friday and, Presiding Officer, it was mints. We know, Presiding Officer, that lateral flow tests have always been superior to vaccine certification because they allow venues to understand who is sick and who is well. It is gratifying that the Government has finally realised that today, but only after weeks of uncertainty and panic caused the Scottish businesses. We are in a situation where we have one scheme that has been proven not to work, combined with one that we know works well. We were told at the start that the fundamental reason behind vaccine passports was to drive up vaccine uptake because of their mandatory nature. Now that they are no longer mandatory, that reason falls away. Is it just embarrassment that it is preventing the Scottish Government from accepting that they were wrong to begin with, abolishing vaccine passports altogether and building a scheme around lateral flow testing at large-scale events? I suspect that Alex Cole-Hamilton lost the thread of his own logic. If he ever had it in that question, I am afraid, I certainly lost the thread of it. There might be some force to that. The Scottish Government is just against all the evidence that has dreamt up a vaccine Covid certification scheme. There might be some force to that if it was not for the fact that countries—increasing numbers of countries across the UK, Northern Ireland and Wales and across Europe and the world—are doing likewise. Faced with a virus, it is very difficult to provide the hard evidence that intervention X leads to effect Y, because an effect is a very difficult thing to prove absolutely. We know that vaccines do not eradicate transmission, nothing completely eradicates it. Therefore, in a setting like a nightclub, if we ensure that everybody is vaccinated, we reduce transmission. By, over the last couple of months, insisting on it being vaccination, we have helped, among other things, to increase rates of vaccination. All of that is a good thing. Now that we are going into a winter period where we want to suppress transmission or keep it suppressed overall and we are trying to encourage people, as I have been doing today, to use LFD tests more generally and more regularly, then it makes sense now to include testing in that. Those decisions are not easy, those decisions are not straightforward, those decisions are never black and white. However, if we have been listening and basing our decisions on the oversimplified oppositionalist, we say black, they say white approach of the opposition, this country would be in an even more difficult situation in this virus than we already are. It is essential in tackling the pandemic that people take up the vaccination, including the latest booster vaccination. Is she aware that there is still a persistent problem with the national vaccination appointment system and how it operates in Lothian? I first contacted health authorities on 28 October. Issues in the portal booking system and the national vaccination helpline, as both have difficulty in identifying local appointments from my constituents, fail to distinguish between each postcode and West Lothian constituents, are directed to East and Mid Lothian, and that is up to two hours for public transport. Constitutions are able to arrange new appointments easily through the local NHS Lothian Covid helpline, which has additional appointment slots to the national booking service, but it is not well publicised for vaccination booking purposes. I am aware of the overhaul of the portal on Friday, allowing constituents to self-select venues, but the delay between the policy announcements that are made by ministers right here in the chamber and the implementation of the vaccination policy changes needs better communications. People who are willing, able and wanting vaccinations are not frustrated when they try and use the system. Can the First Minister instruct improvements to the system so that those who are keen to get vaccinated can do so in a straightforward and efficient manner? Fiona Hyslop is right to identify the fact that it has been acknowledged that some individuals in Lothian have suffered inconvenience in having to travel beyond their local area for booster vaccination appointments. NHS Lothian is working to keep patients appointments within the local area wherever that is possible, while also accelerating the number of boosters being administered. If unsuitable, appointments can be rescheduled through the NHS informed website or the national Covid vaccination helpline. Lothian residents who may face difficulty attending an appointment due to mobility issues can contact the NHS Lothian flu and Covid inquiries line for help with arranging support. We are also currently exploring how and when it is best to begin offering second doses to 16 and 17-year-olds. Of course, we will continue to prioritise vaccinations for those most vulnerable. There is always attention, and this has been the case since day one of this vaccination programme, between speed of delivery and local accessibility. We will try to ensure and work with health boards to ensure that that balance is the right one, but overall the quicker we get through this vaccination programme, the better protection everyone will have. Ritchell Hamilton, to be followed by Siobhan Brown. Every week, we come to this chamber with hope, hope that the First Minister will instruct her Government to do the right thing. In the past few weeks, I have raised flaws with the digital self-tracing form. I have raised issues about constituents obtaining vaccination certification. I flagged 7,000 outstanding incorrectly recorded vaccination records. Furthermore, my colleague, Sandesh Ghani, has highlighted the English app recording the booster scheme and not the Scottish one. This is a really frustrating place to work in. In light of those unresolved issues, does the First Minister not think that the best Christmas gift that she could give to the NHS and to the people of Scotland is to sort out these issues here and now? First Minister, do we know that many Conservatives find Parliament's frustrating places to work in, which is possibly why so many of them have second jobs outside of Parliament? Of course. Or in the case, second and third jobs outside of this Parliament. More seriously, on the issue of the incorporation of the booster vaccine, I said last week that work is under way so that we can incorporate boosters into the Scottish Covid certification app. That is important. It is right that that happens. I am not sure what the Conservatives are suggesting that we should have waited 12 months in order to be part of an English app that does that, because if we had done that, we would not have any Covid certification app right now. We are doing these things properly and effectively. We are also addressing issues that arise, as issues will arise in a scheme as large and complex as this. Members who have issues that constituents raise should write to me, to the health secretary, to the relevant minister, and we will address those issues as we go along. Let me just not in any way seeking to underplay the importance of rectifying any issues. Let me just remind members across the chamber and indeed the public of this central fact again, as we stand here right now. Scotland is the most vaccinated part of the entire UK on first doses, on second doses, on third doses and on booster doses. Yes, I am sure that there are issues that will arise that we need to address, but something that I think in the Scottish vaccination programme is going extremely well, and perhaps the Conservatives might want to acknowledge it. Siobhan Brown to be followed by Katie Clark. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and the First Minister for the update this afternoon. As a general public, we are still being encouraged to do two lateral flow tests a week, and in light of this afternoon's announcement from the First Minister that we are now encouraged to test before we go out, can I ask, when somebody tests positive for Covid and self-isolates for 10 days and therefore has a certain immunity, when should the individual resume doing the lateral flow tests? This answer, of course, is based on clinical advice, and the clinical advice is that people who have had a positive PCR test within 90 days needn't participate in twice-weekly LFD testing. The clinical view is that, in the 90-day window after a positive test, given the low rate of reinfection, it's significantly more likely that a positive LFD test would be a false positive result rather than someone being reinfected, and that may cause people then to isolate unnecessarily. If you recover from Covid and later develop new symptoms, you must book a new PCR test at NHS Inform and follow advice on self-isolation and household isolation again. You shouldn't use LFD if you have symptoms or are self-isolating, and anybody who wants to see further guidance on when to use an LFD test and when to use PCR tests can find this detail on the NHS Inform website. Katie Clark, to be followed by Bob Dorris. First Minister knows that the vaccine starts waning around 10 weeks after the second dose. Given that and the number of people who are still waiting for their booster dose, does the First Minister accept that testing is a safer option? I really, really, really want to strongly emphasise this point that we shouldn't be telling people either or get vaccinated and test yourself regularly. It is really dangerous to start to pose this false choice. Yes, there are points at which we want to emphasise vaccination, which is what we have done to drive up rates in the early part of the certification scheme, but that did not mean that we were telling people not to test with LFD tests. Both are important. On the issue of waning immunity—this is a serious point. My apologies, I think that I omitted to answer this part of Anas Sarwar's question. It is not a cliff edge thing with waning immunity. Immunity begins to wane as the distance between the second dose increases. 24 weeks is the interpretation of the GCVI six months advice that we are working to. Many people were already over that when we got the GCVI advice, so we have always been doing catch-up. Currently we are getting through the catch-up quicker than other parts of the UK, but we are seeking to accelerate that all of the time. At 24 weeks, it is not a case of immunity falling off the cliff edge, but it is important that people get their booster vaccination as close to the 24 weeks as possible. As I said earlier on, the impact of that is significant. 80 per cent increase in immunity is not marginal. That point about immunity is a really important one. I am grateful for the question, because it gives me a chance to underline the importance of getting the booster as soon as you are able to do it. A constituent of mine contacted me and commented that many disabled and vulnerable people in Scotland, like me, have been left unable to safely participate in society with no end in sight. They said that they would feel safer with the extension of the vaccination certification scheme. Many of us today are relieved that it has not been extended further, but we have to acknowledge our very worried vulnerable people out there who are constituents of ours. Does the First Minister agree with me that the very least that we can all do is to follow the baseline measures in place to help to reduce the spread and impact of Covid-19 and to offer at least some degree of reassurance to those who remain at particular risk? That is a really important question, and I want to make it very clear that that consideration is always very high up in the mind of the Cabinet when we are reaching those decisions. For those of us who are fit and healthy and relatively young, all of those protections that are still in place are an inconvenience, and we cannot wait to get rid of them. For people who are much more vulnerable, either by dint of their age or by other clinical conditions, those protections are just that. They are vital protections without which people would be less able to enjoy all the freedoms that we all are enjoying right now. Often, when we are considering protections, we are considering them from the perspective of the most vulnerable, because we want everybody to be able to participate in normal life. There are people who would prefer to see Covid passports being used in all settings. I understand that we have to take proportionate and balanced decisions, which is what we are seeking to do. For those of us who are fit, healthy and relatively young, it is worth bearing in mind sometimes that we have to bear a bit more inconvenience for the sake of the more vulnerable, and we should all make sure that we comply with all the protections that we have been asked to comply with, because it is not only helping us, it is helping everybody else, and in particular those who are most at risk. As members would expect, there is a great deal of interest in this statement, and I would be grateful if we could pick up the pace of questions and responses. I call Dean Lockhart to be followed by Stephanie Callaghan. Accident and emergency waiting times at 4th Valley Royal Hospital have been the worst in Scotland for the past 12 weeks running. Staff at the hospitals are doing their best, but are facing enormous Covid-related pressures and need urgent assistance now. We have seen the British Army offering valuable assistance in other health boards. Given the situation in 4th Valley, will the First Minister and her Government be taking any action to arrange additional support for NHS 4th Valley? In terms of whether to request military assistance—let me record my thanks again to the military for the assistance that they have been given to Scotland and, indeed, to health services in other parts of the UK, any health board requesting that it would initially be a decision of the health board, as far as I am aware, there has not been such a request from 4th Valley. If that is forthcoming, obviously we will consider that in the normal way and should be considered appropriate. Submit that to the military for proper consideration. More generally, we are taking steps, additional funding and other ways of supporting health boards to redesign access to urgent care and to help ease the flow of patients through hospitals to release the pressure on accident and emergency. That will continue right throughout the winter period. All our accident emergencies are working under significant pressure. What we can all do to help, though, is to do all the things that we know will help to get Covid cases down, because above all that is what is going to ease the pressure on our NHS. While Scotland's vaccination programme is the most successful in the United Kingdom in terms of public uptake, 21 per cent of Scotland's age between 18 and 29 remain unvaccinated. Has the Scottish Government quoted any information on the reasons why those young people have not yet come forward? Is the First Minister considering any new initiatives to encourage more young people to get vaccinated? Again, a really good and helpful question. Yes, we consider on an on-going basis how we can reach those parts of the population where uptake rates are not as high as they are overall in one of those groups is, of course, young people. There are a variety of reasons why people will not yet be vaccinated. Some people will have chosen not to be vaccinated and I would urge them to think again. There will be some people, of course, who are not vaccinated yet because they have recently had Covid and, as we know, if you have had Covid, there is a period of four weeks between having the virus and getting vaccinated. Some people, right now particularly in the younger age groups, will be facing that. We are continuing to take steps to say to people that, if they are not vaccinated yet with a first, second or booster dose, if they are eligible, it is not too late to come forward and do that. I would encourage MSPs across the chamber in their own constituencies to do everything possible to reiterate and emphasise that message. I welcome the First Minister's emphasis on testing and the addition of a lateral flow test to the vaccination certification scheme. Could the First Minister outline what the Scottish Government is doing to widen the range of venues and settings that packs of LFD tests are available in to make it easier for more people to test themselves? If we have sufficient supply of tests to cope with any resulting surge in demand? In relation to the second part of the question, the short answer is yes. We keep supplies under very close monitoring. Obviously, one of the things that we are keen to do working with the other Governments across the UK is keep supply of LFD tests accessible and free of charge well into the new year. Discussions are on-going about that. I should say that there is no immediate prospect of that change, but we want to make sure that that is the case for as long as necessary. We will, as part of our discussion with businesses about how we all work together to keep transmission rates under control, to look at whether there are settings. We can more routinely make LFD tests available in. Of course, they are very accessible already through NHS Inform. If you order them one day, they tend to come the next day, or you can go to a local pharmacy or a local test site to pick up those tests. The inability to get them should not be a problem, or the ability to get them should not be a problem and should not be a barrier to their use. However, we will consider whether there are other settings where we can make larger numbers of tests available for people turning up at those settings to use. Mass gatherings for adults are allowed now, so will the First Minister let children have fun this Christmas and lift the ban on school nativity plays and Christmas shows? I really would hope that, notwithstanding the political divides and debates between us, all perfectly normal in a democracy, none of us would suggest that the motivation of the Government is to stop children having fun. All of us want children to have fun, but we want children, like adults, to have fun safely. The guidance around schools has been kept under review. We do not want any restrictions in schools or early year settings to be in place for any longer than necessary. We take advice from our education advisory subgroups so that we are basing those decisions on the best available information. I hope that children, like the rest of us, will have a much, much more normal Christmas than was the case last year. In fact, I hope that children more than any of the rest of us have a more normal Christmas this year than they did last year. My apologies to Rona Mackay, who will be followed by Kenneth Gibson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I think that it might have been my fault that I did not have my button press. My question was about school pupils, quite like Morris Golden, who will be taking part in Christmas events as a holidays approach. In light of the continued threat that the virus poses to family members at home, can I ask the First Minister what guidance has been provided to schools to ensure that such events can take place safely? If my memory is wrong here, I will correct it in writing to Rona Mackay, but guidance is already available to local authorities in relation to seasonal events in terms of Christmas concerts, nativity plays within schools. The current guidance advises that there should not be live audiences, but I know that schools have alternative means of making sure that they are available and accessible to parents. However, that guidance remains under review and will continue to be informed by the educational advisory subgroup. Kenneth Gibson, to be followed by Colin Smyth. Thank you, Presiding Officer. On 12 November, NHS Ayrsharnan advised that Cumbria residents would receive their booster on Saturday 27 November in Millport. There was no indication that only folk aged 70 and over would be included. However, it now transpires that islanders under 70 many with disabilities are expected to travel by bus or car to catch a ferry, then traverse larchs, possibly in the cold and dark, to obtain their jab. Does the First Minister agree that the health board should think again, not least because providing boosters in Millport will obviously increase uptake amongst islanders? I think that all health boards, including Ayrsharnan, should think very carefully about how they design the scheme so that it is as accessible as possible. As I said earlier on, there are always going to be tensions between that and getting the programme done as quickly as possible. I do not think that it would be right for me to dictate in every local circumstance how that should be done, because local health boards know their local areas better. Of course, there are particular considerations in island communities and I certainly believe that NHS Ayrsharnan should consider the points that Kenny Gibson has made about Millport and make sure that it is giving islanders, in particular, the ability to be vaccinated without the additional inconvenience that going off island would entail. The health secretary would be happy to follow that up directly with Ayrsharnan. Colin Smyth, to be followed by Christine Grahame. We were too slow to introduce testing for key workers such as carers, too slow to introduce testing in our airports, and now we have been too slow to introduce testing as part of our Covid passports. There has not been a case of test-test test. It has been slow, slow, slow. With PCR tests half the number that we were two months ago and LFD tests still not high enough, is the First Minister really saying that we are doing enough to make what she called for earlier on that routine twice weekly test the norm instead of the exception, because it is simply not the policy of mass testing that we really need to deliver a real robust response to this pandemic? I think that Colin Smyth is misunderstanding, or perhaps not misunderstanding, but misrepresenting, I am sure inadvertently, the point of testing in or out of a vaccine Covid certification scheme. We have not included testing up until now, as one of the proofs that get you into a venue does not mean that we have not been encouraging people to use LFD tests. Every time I have stood here, I have repeatedly encouraged people to use LFD tests twice a week. We are now asking them to go beyond that and do LFD tests whenever they are going socialising in whatever settings. I have set out clearly people, of course, entitled to disagree with it, but the idea that we have not set out clearly a rationale for relying in the certification scheme up until now only on proof of vaccination is not the case. We have set that out clearly, but, alongside that, we have also been encouraging people to test. Uptake of LFD tests is good. We think that it can be higher. We need it to be higher if we are asking people to test more regularly than has been the case. Testing overall has been very—uptake of testing overall has been very strong, which is why we have been able to record as many positive cases as has been the case in recent weeks. All of this, we continue to work hard at that. I do not stand here ever and say that there is not more that we can do on all of this, but I do occasionally think that the opposition should perhaps give a bit of credit for the work that has been done not by us but around the country to deliver testing, to deliver vaccination and deliver some of the excellent progress that we are seeing. Christine Grahame to be followed by Alexander Stewart. First Minister, I refer to the public information advertisements to go ahead in the coming weeks with the importance of mandatory face coverings in Scotland on public transport and now new recommendations on lateral flow tests. Can I ask if those will run across all the UK terrestrial channels, especially as more people will be crossing the border from England, like, I hope, one of my sons and his family, to visit relatives over the festive period and many of whom may not be aware of the differences and the different requirements and statutory requirements in Scotland? First Minister, can you try to get over adverts and campaigns as widely circulated and seen as possible? I cannot stand here and say exactly what channels those adverts will be on, but we will make sure that that is as extensive as possible. We cannot always have those Scottish Government adverts shown south of the border, but we try to make sure that people travelling into Scotland are absolutely clear on what the advice and guidance is in Scotland and we will continue to try to do that to the best of our ability. Alexander Stewart to be followed by John Mason. In the statement, First Minister, you comment and encourage pregnant women to get vaccinated. I also encourage them to do so. What action is the Scottish Government taking to ensure that that message is being communicated across the country to protect pregnant women? A range of different actions have been taken, and it is really important that we do not let up on that. I know that the Royal College of Midwives has been active in the space. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has also been active. The Government, through our clinical advisers, is trying to get that message across directly to pregnant women as often and as loudly as we can. I again appeal to everybody across the chamber to amplify that message in the local constituencies. It is vital that pregnant women come forward for the vaccination, it is giving them protection, it is giving their on-board child protection. There has been, I think, some concern about vaccination in that group, and it is really important that we continue to use all methods to allay those fears and encourage as high an uptake as possible. The vaccination programme clearly has been very successful. Last week, the British Society for Immunology reminded us that somebody who has not been vaccinated is 32 times more at risk of dying if they catch Covid. However, some people are still hesitant, especially in poor areas and among ethnic minorities. Can the First Minister say if anything has been done to help them to get vaccinated? We address that on an on-going basis and will continue. As long as there are groups of people unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, we will not let up and try to persuade people to come forward. In terms of minority to ethnic communities, there has been outreach work done in particular communities through different faith and voluntary organisations. We have deliberately sighted some vaccination centres in places where they are more accessible, Glasgow Central Mosque being one obvious example. We will continue in every way possible whether it is the location of vaccination, the messages and the location of messaging to get that message across as widely as possible. Everybody out there, if you are not vaccinated yet, is not too late and make sure that you take the opportunity to do so. Pam Duncan-Clancie, to be followed by Evelyn Tweed. To get to the truth and to make the change needed, the Covid-19 inquiry must support those hit hardest by the pandemic to participate in it. It must ensure that duty bearers are held accountable and it is essential that it is carried out in a way that does not discriminate and that its work seeks to determine whether decisions and actions taken this year had a disproportionate impact on some groups of people. Can the First Minister confirm what the plans are to ensure that the inquiry is based on human rights and do those things? We have already given a commitment to the inquiry to be one that is fully based on and informed by human rights and equality principles. I repeat that commitment today. We are in the process of identifying and will shortly confirm the appointment of a chair of the inquiry and the terms of reference and the principles that will guide and drive that inquiry. We have given a commitment to having it established by the end of this calendar year. Once the inquiry is established, it's conduct will be entirely the responsibility of the chair and it will be important that ministers do not interfere with that, but the work to establish it is well advanced and we will set out details to Parliament shortly. With just over a month to go to Christmas, can the First Minister confirm whether families should expect to be able to enjoy a more normal Christmas this year? I certainly hope so. At this stage, I'm very optimistic about that and that would be my expectation. I'm conscious that we ended up last year with an unexpected development in the virus. I really hope that that doesn't happen this year. I am very much hopeful that all of us will have a much more normal Christmas. Of course, to make that possible, we need to comply with all the protections in place now and continue to do that through Christmas so that we don't just have a better, happier, more normal Christmas, but we also have a brighter new year as well. That concludes First Minister's statement COVID-19 update. There will be a brief pause before we move on to the next item of business.


The rescue Nigerian nation, a movement yearning for the emergence of Governor Yahya Bello as Nigerian president, has held a town hall meeting with women and youth in Canu. The Canu state coordinator of the movement, Abdul Ahmad, said Governor Yahya Bello has contributed immensely to the development of youth in Nigeria by drawing them closer to government and making people oriented policy for their benefit. In his remark, the chief of staff to Governor Yahya Bello, Abdul Karim Asquah, held the group for drawing support for Yahya Bello, not saying that it's time for Nigerian youth to clinch the presidency in 2023 and through Governor Yahya Bello.