Those farmers, in turn, help to spur local rural economies, via the multiplier effect, as they tend to spend the majority of their income on local goods and services.
And she insisted that "things are not getting out of hand" in local government and that a multiplier was neither necessary or appropriate, because the sector was self-regulated and pay levels were set by local councils.
The generally accepted multiplier used to figure economic impact for new payroll additions to local economies is 6 to 7 times the amount of the payroll.
To rewind, an economic consultancy reported for Scottish Enterprise 10 years ago that there is a multiplier effect in the west of Scotland - that is, local businesses supply Faslane and Coulport, and then a portion of the salaries of 6, 500 people is spent on local businesses.