Man who makes most of quality of Scottish meat

SCOTLAND HAS an international reputation for producing the very best beef, lamb and pork.

As chief executive of Quality Meat Scotland, Uel Morton has the responsibility of not only retaining that good name but further promoting it.

In this interview David Andrews asks him about his work.

QAQAQA— What is your background?

— I was born and brought up on a livestock farm and I can remember one day the older men on the farm talking about the poor price they were getting for beef, and that was when I first thought about the need to improve marketing.

I then studied food Newcastle University.

During my student days I visited a brewery in Edinburgh and that was a revelation as to how farm produce was being turned into well-known consumer brands. It was a lesson for my future life

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— Tell me a little about QMS.

at — It is a dynamic organisation. There is only a small staff but we have wide-ranging depths and abilities.

I am a generalist but the rest of the staff are specialists in disciplines such as marketing, industry development, economics and communications.

Our remit is to improve the competitive position of the Scottish red meat industry.

We do that in two broad ways. We differentiate beef, lamb and pork in the marketplace through the Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork brands.

We are also working to improve the efficiency of the industry through projects such as monitor farms, where producers can compare systems.

— How is QMS funded?

— We are funded through levies from producers and from processors. We also get grants from the Scottish Government and Europe and devote considerable time and energy to leveraging additional funding for the benefit of the industry.

Q— What is the biggest challenge facing the red meat sector?

A— It has to be coping with uncertainty. For processors their biggest uncertainty currently is securing supplies so they can satisfy the orders they have and still to come out with a profit.

In recent months their raw material has increased in price significantly and they are feeling a little bit squeezed, and that is linked to a tight supply situation.

For farmers it is the outcome of the Common Agricultural Policy negotiations. This is hanging over the industry.

Q— What about the threat of the white meat, or poultry, sector?

A— There is no doubt it is a very efficient industry and it is vital that our industry makes the most of new technology to ensure it keeps improving its efficiency.

We have a large number of R&D projects ongoing aimed at helping the industry to step up efficiency and in so doing reduce waste and improve sustainability.

Q— What do you consider to be your greatest success?

A— Export development. Think back to 1996 when the beef export ban was put in place.

This continued for 10 years and in 2006 we had to have a strategy to get Scotch beef back into Europe.

We focused on four countries — France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Last year Scotch Beef and Lamb exports exceeded £100m.

It has been satisfying to be part of that industry effort.

QA— And where does QMS go now?

— We are now working on expanding our target markets to include Germany and the Scandinavian countries

We are also finding developing markets worldwide for parts of carcases that previously were thrown away.

For example, there is now a demand for tendons with some Far Eastern consumers seeing these as luxury items to be eaten on a skewer at a barbecue.

Q— What parts of your work do the producers not see?

A— We do a great deal of work in schools promoting red meat’s role in a healthy diet. That is investment in the future.

Q— Are you concerned about the decline in the numbers of cattle sheep and pigs being kept in Scotland?

A— It is a supply and demand issue. The economic signals are now good for producers, but it is essential we keep critical mass in the industry.

Q— Where does animal welfare come into the picture?

A— It is now 21 years since Scotland first took on the challenge of Farm Assurance, which ensures livestock are well looked after. My predecessors deserve a great deal of credit for their pioneering work in putting this in place.

Scotland has also achieved a first ever, with the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals supporting our Specially Selected Pork scheme.

Their welfare officers inspect premises of our pig producers.

That is unique and we are very proud of it.

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— Is it not strange that QMS has no women on its board?

A— There are a lot of successful women in the industry and it is a disappointment of mine that we do not have women on the board, but that is not a QMS decision.

I would hope the next round of appointments, which come inapril 2013, will bring forward one or two women. Around half of our staff members are women so we do have female input to the organisation.

QQAQA— Any wish for the organisation?

That we could distribute the levy equitably across Great Britain.

Levies are paid on where the animal is slaughtered, and Scotland loses about £1m every year because a large percentage of our lambs are slaughtered out of the country. This needs a political solution.

— And a wish for the industry?

— A sustainable and prospering future.

— How do you relax?

— On a Friday evening I go and watch Edinburgh rugby team.

Uel Morton provides an insight into his work with Quality Meat Scotland.