Lots to learn as beef farmers debate their sector's future

Published on Monday 29 June 2009 19:28

SCOTLAND'S farmers have hardly had time to draw breath after the amazing success of the Royal Highland Show. But tomorrow at Pitlcohie Farm, near Kinross, and just off the M90, the Scottish Beef Cattle Association stages its "Beef Fayre", and lessons could well be learned.

This is a largely technical event, but there will be some pertinent issues aired, not the least of which will concern animal health and the future of the 1.6 billion Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP).

Gavin Hill, the senior beef specialist with the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), has been instrumental in putting together the programme of seminars. He said: "There is a lot happening in the beef industry, and producers need to be up to speed on these developments to plan their future businesses."

The highlight of the event is almost certain to be the "Great Beef Debate", which will be chaired by Peter Cook, who recently reported to the Scottish Government on how he thinks the SRDP should roll out.

On the panel will be Jim Walker, a past president of NFU Scotland and a former chairman of Quality Meat Scotland. Walker is renowned for saying precisely what he thinks.

The same could be said for his fellow panellist Jim Brown, a former leading dairy farmer in Lanarkshire who sold his cows some years ago and now finishes more than 2,000 prime cattle each year. Patrick Lambert, the host for the day, runs herds of both organic and conventional beef breeding cows, and he will also have his say: he is another with firm opinions.

That trio of speakers will be joined by Justin McCarthy of the Irish Farmers' Journal. He has an in-depth knowledge of the sector and was instrumental in persuading Brussels to ban almost all imports of beef into the EU from Brazil 18 months ago.

Earlier in the day, Ken Rundle, the head of communications at the SAC, will chair a session on animal health. Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, the chief executive of the Moredun Research Institute, will lead the debate.

She will be followed by Nigel Miller, vice-president of NFUS, who is also a qualified vet. Miller, in partnership with his two sons, runs a herd of 170 suckler cows in the Borders, as well as a flock of 800 ewes. The final speaker in this session will be George Caldow, the regional veterinary manager with the SAC who has written a wide range of technical papers on animal diseases.