Scots beef sector ‘needs help to ensure survival’
With low profitability in the sector meaning that the number of finished cattle being processed through Scottish abattoirs has fallen by almost 25 per cent over the past 12 years, production-driven support measures will be key to the industry’s post-brexit future.
At a summit meeting of organisations involved in the trade, the spotlight was aimed at stemming the fall in on-farm production – Scottish abattoirs handled 520,000 cattle in 2005 but only 400,000 in 2017.
Recognising this as part of a long-term trend, NFU Scotland, the Scottish Beef Association (SBA) and the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW) have written to Scotland’s rural economy secretary, Fergus Ewing, to highlight their concerns about the prospects for the Scottish suckler beef herd.
They said that the major factor behind the reduction had been poor profitability impacting the viability of beef production.
Speaking after the meeting, NFU Scotland livestock committee chairman Charlie Adam said that the Scottish Government’s recent post-brexit policy proposals were welcome: “However, greater returns from the marketplace for beef in the future will be limited due to the fierce competitiveness of the food retail market.”
Adam said that Scotland’s reputation for quality beef – along with the coveted PGI status – would continue to help maintain the existing premium for Scotch Beef, but added that it was clear that the premium alone had not been enough to stem the fall in numbers: “Therefore, with limited market returns, it is vital that any future support for the sector is developed in a way which enhances production levels of iconic Scotch beef. “
He said that the existing headage payments on calves had helped encourage some farmers to invest in the production of profitable stock, but added: “At best it has only slowed down the decline in stock numbers rather than achieve its policy aims to stabilise beef cow numbers and then return the size of the national herd to historical levels.”
SBA president Neil Mccorkindale said that many who kept suckler herds were only managing to maintain stock numbers by “squeezing the life out of existing assets”, leaving them unable to make much needed investment in new machinery, equipment and facilities.
“This situation has led to levels of inertia in the sector that discourage young people, and which stand in the way of production and progress,” he said.
He added that while the beef efficiency scheme had been another avenue to deliver support to the sector, it was viewed by many producers as “impractical and overly-burdensome”.
“We hope that the Scottish Government can commit to simplicity when developing similar future support mechanisms to make them more user friendlyand, most importantly, enabling livestock farmers to achieve productivity benefits,” he said.
SAMW President Frank Clark said that new support must encourage production: “While our members are currently investing in their plants and have additional future investments in mind to ensure processing facilities in Scotland remain of the highest standard, we need an increase in raw material supplies going forward.”