Innovation and support is “vital” in food sector, says Scottish Cabinet Secretary
Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) has reported the results of its lamb social media marketing, as Cabinet Secretary Mairi Gougeon hears first hand how Government can help to optimise food production.
QMS reported that figures over the last three years showed sales in livestock marts to butchers and processors had increased in November each year, which the trade body said demonstrated the “growing impacts of the campaign”.
Across social media, QMS exhibited lamb dishes to boost the profile of locally sourced red meat, reaching over 70,000 consumers in preparation for St Andrew’s Day.
Working closely with the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland (IAAS), QMS also delivered lamb for the St Andrew’s Day school initiative and supported the promotion of lamb donations to the IAAS ‘lamb bank’, which saw lamb distributed to local butchers, for schools to collect and cook with. In the month of November, a total of 3.1 metric tonnes of Scotch label lamb reportedly fed 24,716 children throughout 149 Scottish schools.
IAAS executive director, Neil Wilson, said: “The campaign was another success with auctioneers and butchers working together to deliver lamb to Scottish Schools as well as working with QMS to promote lamb more widely than ever before.”
A COP28 dinner was held to develop the reputation of lamb for St Andres’s Day overseas, and was organised by Scottish Development International (SDI) and supported by QMS, with guests served lamb from Aberdeenshire-based Woodhead Brothers.
Cabinet secretary visits South Ayrshire Monitor Farm
Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands visited farmers John and David Andrew on their South Ayrshire Monitor Farm to hear about the “positive work” being achieved on Scottish farms throughout the Monitor Farm Programme. Gougeon was joined by QMS chair Kate Rowell and Monitor Farm Programme Manager Beth Alexander.
Alexander said: “We talked Ms Gougeon through what each Monitor Farm has completed in the programme to date, including soil sampling and the production of an Integrated Land Management Plan (ILMP) which provides a SWOT analysis for the business, alongside two Specialist Advise Plans.”
On a tour of the farm, QMS reported that Gougeon heard how the Andrew family is looking at new business options. Business challenges such as seasonal land availability, climate change and a reduction in labour from family members were all discussed.
Alexander continued: “The Andrew’s ultimate aim is to continue to produce quality Scotch products but with reduced inputs and cost of production. To achieve this the family is considering the opportunities presented to them such as technological advances in agriculture, to minimise extra labour requirement and overall input costs.
“We discussed the range of opportunities identified within the business, from nutrient budgeting and grassland improvements through to carbon auditing and improved data collection and utilisation.”
According to QMS, Gougeon’s visit highlighted to Government the “opportunities and challenges” for agriculture, and the importance of thriving farm businesses in supporting the wider rural economy.
Gougeon said: “Innovation, sustainability and peer-to-peer support in the agricultural sector is vital to ensure we are optimising food production whilst meeting our climate change and biodiversity ambitions. The Monitor Farm Scotland Programme is critical in our efforts to achieve this vision for Scottish agriculture. I look forward to seeing the tangible benefits that initiative’s ongoing work has on the sector.”
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