Latest Press Releases

Farmers from across Scotland this week came to hear how Deeside Monitor Farmers Duncan and Claire Morrison are finishing their mainly Stabiliser beef bulls at grass in a ground-breaking trial at Upper Ingliston farm near Inverurie. Visitors at the Monitor Farm summer...

Despite a decrease in Scotland's overall beef herd over the past year, recent cattle population data from British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) indicates a significant increase in prime cattle numbers on Scottish farms compared to 2023. According to the latest market...

The EQ Food & Drink Pavilion at Turriff Show is regarded as one of the top attractions at the show, alongside the outstanding exhibition of livestock and animals that takes place. This year will be no different when the show returns on 4 and 5 August 2024 at the...

Currently there is a good market for oilseed rape from both price and demand standpoints and given that many growers are familiar with this agronomically beneficial break crop there are many good reasons to consider giving it a place in the rotation. Huge demand The...

Selling cattle over the next few weeks could be a good business decision for beef farmers, according to Grant Anderson of Harrison & Hetherington, but it’s not the time to rush lambs off farm before they are well finished. “Prices for store cattle are good and...

Business development, retail inspiration and new product ideas were key research areas when the first all-female cohort of Scottish butchery business managers and colleagues visited leading Northern Irish butchers recently. The trip, organised by Quality Meat...

Next month, Scotland’s largest two-day agricultural event, Turriff Show, has a great number of livestock entries for the 1,500+ classes it holds at the event which runs on Sunday 4 and Monday 5 August. Entries are well up on all classes, compared with last year, with...

Throughout May and June, thousands of school children across Scotland have been getting hands-on with understanding where their beef, lamb and pork comes from, how to cook it, and what having Scotch really means for them, their families, and Scottish farmers. Tracy...

‘Growing for optimum output’ is the focus of this summer’s Dumfriesshire Monitor Farm open meeting on Tuesday 30 July at Barnbackle, Lochfoot. Booking for the meeting, which runs from 3.30pm-6.30pm, is now open. Visitors will be able to focus on sheep and cattle...

June is well known for Fathers’ Day and iconic summer events such as Royal Ascot and Glastonbury. For the last 40 years it has also been the month to celebrate Volunteers’ Week and to mark this milestone Farmstrong Scotland speaks to people from the rural community...

Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) recently organised a successful knowledge transfer day at Kilmacolm Farm Tours, bringing together almost thirty members of The Scotch Beef Club and The Scotch Butchers’ Club. The event focussed on the unique qualities of Scotch red meat and...

Guidance has been tightened for all users of professional rodenticides, including gamekeepers, with the withdrawal of the ‘open area’ pattern of use for second generation anti-coagulant rodenticides (SGARs), from the 4th of July 2024. Reflecting these changes, the...

As the summer rolls in (and hopefully brings us some sun and blue skies!), Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb, and Specially Selected Pork are teaming up again with the Bauer radio network to bring a sizzling campaign to listeners across Scotland. Building on the successful...

BBC Countryfile presenter Adam Henson shared a behind-the-scenes insight into ABP Food Group’s sustainability initiative during Sunday’s edition of the popular programme. Viewers watched Adam as he explored the details of the Programme for the Improvement in...

Three months have passed since the Scottish Government announced additional conditions to the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme, bizarrely in the middle of calving season, and the argument over its impact rumbles on. Recently, IAAS and the industry were presented...

Building resilience – for farms and anyone in farming – is the theme for the Roxburghshire Monitor Farm summer meeting, being held jointly with Farmstrong Scotland. Booking for the event, on Thursday 18 July, is now open. Farmers are invited to come along and hear the...

‘Chewing the Cud Over Grazing and Managing our Time’ are the two key topics of this summer’s Argyllshire Monitor Farm open meeting, with booking now open for the event at Killinallan Farm on Islay on Thursday 25 July. Visitors to the event at the Archibald family’s...

Bookings are now open for the Deeside Monitor Farm summer meeting on Tuesday 16 July, with visitors set to discuss forage and finishing cattle among other key topics. The meeting, which is open to anyone in agriculture, will see Monitor Farmers Duncan and Claire...

The Better Burger Challenge, a contest designed to inspire students to reformulate classic burgers into healthier and innovative versions using Scotch red meat, has announced its winner for 2024. Kirkintilloch High School in East Dunbartonshire has emerged victorious...

Despite the challenging early season which saw most sugar beet crops drilled later than normal, there is 102,000 ha of sugar beet in the ground with 85% of crops now at the established 6 true leaves stage. In order to get the most from these crops, mastering disease...

The three major farm carbon calculators featured in the Defra Report Harmonisation of Carbon Accounting Tools for Agriculture – SCF0129, have announced a collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), intended to harmonise the methodologies used in...

Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) appoints Multiply as its integrated marketing agency and Stripe Communications to handle its consumer press office QMS, the Non-Departmental Public Body responsible for promoting Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork on...

A final piece in the jigsaw of Quality Meat Scotland’s (QMS’s) reorganisation around its ambitious strategy to make Scotland the choice for premium red meat has been fixed into place with a new Senior Management Team appointment. Chartered Institute of Public...

The Scottish red meat sector has demonstrated considerable progress, generated opportunities and grown its ambition, a year on from the launch of Quality Meat Scotland’s (QMS’s) five-year strategy. Addressing 150 guests across farming, butchery, auction market, and...

Farmers at last week’s Banff and Buchan Monitor Farm meeting heard that net zero was ‘a marathon and not a sprint’, and that sustainable farming choices needed to insist on the best science, with accurate, precise data on individual farms. Key speaker Professor John...

We’re all ready for summer, and so is Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) with its latest summer guide ‘The Art of the BBQ’. This free publication from their renowned Scotch Butchers’ Club, shows consumers how to make the most of the BBQ season. These top tips help you enjoy...

Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) is hosting two open days at award-winning farms for farmers and crofters to learn about practices aimed at improving profitability and efficiency while also reducing carbon emissions. The first event will be held in July in the Lammermuir...

Delving into crucial topics impacting UK farming businesses is the focus of a new podcast series launched this month by AgriScot. Talking Business is a short six-episode series to build on some of the valuable business insights enjoyed at the UK’s largest indoor farm...

Foodservice businesses in Scotland can now take advantage of marketing and technical support opportunities offered by the Scotch Beef Club, relaunched this week by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). The Scotch Beef Club invited an audience of leading foodservice...

From understated boutique gatherings celebrating our love of everything from food to flowers to full-on experiences like Glastonbury, summer events and festivals are firmly ingrained into the British way of life. When the Cherry farming family launched the Groundswell...

Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) is set to make a significant impact at The Royal Highland Show, running from June 20-23 at Ingliston. The event showcases the very best of the country’s produce, livestock and producers and is the perfect platform for QMS to demonstrate how...

When Geoff Sansome takes to the stage as chair of the 2025 Oxford Farming Conference it will be 31 years since he first attended the event. He clearly remembers first setting foot into the hallowed halls of the famous university buildings; it was 1994 and he was...

There’s a focus on hill farming and contending with the changing farming climate at the summer open meeting of the South Ayrshire Monitor Farm. Bookings are now open for the meeting at Blair Farm, Crosshill, Maybole, on Wednesday 26 June at 3pm, when Monitor Farmers...

Farming and rural industries are onto a winner following the announcement that the Scottish Agriculture Awards are to make a return to the stage this year. Last year’s inaugural awards event, organised in a collaboration between AgriScot, the Royal Highland...

Being active is one of the Five Steps to Wellbeing that form the cornerstones of Farmstrong Scotland. We meet a dairy industry stalwart who has lifted her way to a glass (of milk, of course) half full outlook on life... Tracey Roan is in many ways a modern...

Earlier this week (Wednesday 22 May) leading figures in agriculture, primary food production and land management in Scotland came together with MSPs at Holyrood at a parliamentary reception sponsored by Elena Whitham MSP. The reception, attended by more than 130...

Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) is looking for ambassadors to support its wider reputation work to promote the benefits of Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork to communities around Scotland. Ambassadors will be involved in various activities including...

Applications are being invited to access support from a new £50,000 community fund set up by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). The Community Marketing Fund is a dedicated resource designed to support local projects and events that educate consumers on the characteristics...

Following the success in 2023, BASF UK and Ireland have re-launched their Innovation Collaboration Day, an event which calls for start-ups and scale-up innovators to apply for investment to develop their concept. The worldwide manufacturer has a strong history of...

Rural and farming communities in Caithness and Orkney are coming together for the third annual Come Ashore Cup, highlighting the importance of connecting and supporting each other. The event, which this year will take place over two days on 31st May and 1st June, was...

Hosted by farmers and crofters across Scotland, a new series of events will take place this summer, run by wellbeing programme Farmstrong Scotland. Supported by a donation from the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust, the events will provide an insight into a farming or...

After a firm start to the new season, prime lamb auction prices have made a strong impression at Scottish marts, averaging 436p/kg lwt in the second week of May, according to the latest market commentary from Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). Meanwhile, hogg values...

Leading organisations in agriculture, primary food production and land management in Scotland have formalised a stakeholder group to unite as one voice on common objectives as Scotland’s future agriculture policy is defined.   As the Scottish Government’s...

Farmers and crofters from across Scotland have come together to help create a Farmstrong Scotland music playlist that people can connect with, whilst also feeling part of a community who are experiencing similar challenges. Within one week of launching, more than 100...

Monitor Farm Scotland is offering farmers an afternoon of carbon capture, sheep management, soil nutrition and woodland discussions at the Banff and Buchan Monitor Farm, at Sauchentree, on the north-east coast of Scotland, on Friday 7 June. The keynote speaker,...

The Scottish Monitor Farm team has an action-packed event planned at the Strathspey Monitor farm, Auchernack, at Grantown-on-Spey, on Monday 3 June. Future-proofing agricultural businesses is the main topic up for discussion and will be followed with a BBQ. For many...

Carbon from every angle, is the theme for East Lothian’s Monitor Farm event at Castleton Farm Orchard, being held on Tuesday 11 June.  Farmers and crofters are invited to learn more about farming carbon and what it means to them. Castleton Farm spans 418 acres (169ha)...

Increasing the sustainability of your livestock farm, will be the theme at the 2024 Summer Open Meet at Stirlingshire’s Monitor Farm - Lands of Drumhead - on Wednesday 12 June from 3pm. Visitors will hear from a superb range of expert speakers including Alex Pirie...

Nine on-farm events designed to spark discussion and peer-to-peer learning on future proofing farming businesses, financially, practically, and environmentally, will take place across Scotland this summer. The meetings have been arranged by the Monitor Farm Scotland...

Sarah Millar, the chief executive of QMS, has been crowned the Trade Organisation Woman of the Year at the inaugural National Women in Agriculture Awards at the House of Commons on 9 May. The prestigious accolade recognises her exceptional contributions to the farming...

Farmer’s wife and grandmother Hazel Moss describes herself as “a private person” but she is stepping out of the shadows to support Farmstrong Scotland. Like most people farming or crofting Hazel has found herself juggling many plates over the years. To help bring some...

This year celebrates the 160th anniversary of Turriff Show – Scotland’s largest two-day agricultural event – which is set to take place on Sunday 4 to Monday 5 August 2024. Each year, the showground comes to life, welcoming those from near and far to experience the...

More than half of Scottish adults said that Sunday roast and mince & tatties are the top choices for the most nostalgic ‘meat and two veg’ mealtimes. Almost a third of Scots say soggy vegetables and overcooked meat evokes the worst memories. New campaign set to...

Tickets have gone on sale for this summer’s Groundswell Festival. John Kempf, Founder and Chief Vision Officer of Advancing Eco Agriculture and host of the Regenerative Agriculture Podcast is set to present for the first time at this year's Groundswell event. He...

Safeguarding the future for agricultural shows will come under the spotlight at a conference attended by delegates from all over the world. The key to continued success is, according to Australia’s Brendan Christou and Scotland’s Rebecca Dawes, talking to each other...

The Turriff Show Ladies’ Day Committee will host their annual charity event one week prior to the 160th Turriff Show, building momentum for Scotland’s largest two-day agricultural show. The event was established in 2018, and despite the two-year absence in 2020 and...

Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) is driving efforts to safeguard Scotland's pig industry against the threat of African Swine Fever (ASF). Striving to stay ahead of this highly transmissible disease, the organisation has deployed various strategies, including participation...

Acclaimed Scottish bar and restaurant group Buzzworks Holdings has become the first group member of Quality Meat Scotland’s (QMS) revitalised Scotch Beef Club. Buzzworks venues across the Central Belt and West of Scotland, including its Scotts and Lido restaurants,...

Acclaimed Scottish bar and restaurant group Buzzworks Holdings has become the first group member of Quality Meat Scotland’s (QMS) revitalised Scotch Beef Club. Buzzworks venues across the Central Belt and West of Scotland, including its Scotts and Lido restaurants,...

This year the growing season for spring barley has been greatly reduced, with many crops only recently drilled and so when established these crops will rattle through their growth stages. A recent BASF event with experts from both the UK and Ireland gave growers...

Getting the conference off on the right foot: Cattle hoof trimmer with over six million social media followers named as star speaker Professional cattle hoof trimmer Graeme Parker - renowned globally as “The Hoof GP” - has been announced as the person who will open...

Favourite television presenter announced as host of a new podcast series for Farmstrong Scotland Most people know Sarah Stephen from her work as a television presenter. Not everyone will be aware that Sarah - who many still refer to by her maiden name Sarah Mack –...

Scotland is arguably one of the best places in the world to grow barley, but that’s not the only reason whisky distillers – and brewers - choose it for production, says Peter Nelson, Operations Director at The Glenmorangie Company. “Malting barley grown in Scotland is...

Living well in order to be able to farm and croft well is one of the key Farmstrong Scotland messages. We meet the crofters who are reaping the benefits of finding some time for themselves … It took start-up crofters Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer six hard years before...

Scotland is arguably one of the best places in the world to grow barley, but that’s not the only reason whisky distillers – and brewers - choose it for production, says Peter Nelson, Operations Director at The Glenmorangie Company. “Malting barley grown in Scotland is...

Countries encompassing the alphabet - from Australia to Zambia - will be represented at the 30th Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth (RASC) Conference. The event, which is being hosted in Scotland, was founded in 1957 by the late Duke of Edinburgh Prince...

Scotland’s apprentice butchers are benefiting from a focus on innovation provided through the Scotch Butchers Club, run by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). It recently partnered with industry leaders to provide learning and development opportunities for 24 apprentice...

With relentless rain, endless mud and peak lambing and calving season testing physical and mental resilience, Quality Meat Scotland and farming charity, RSABI, are reminding farmers of the role of good food in maintaining both physical and mental well-being....

By Jane Craigie Rural and agrifood businesses desire to tell their stories has led to two new appointments at a sector-specialist communications agency. Katie Insch has an interesting backstory, leaving home as a teenager to work for the Royal Household at both...

The topic of diet and nutrition has always attracted a polarised debate – one day something is healthy to eat, the next it’s not. One of the foods most affected by this is red meat. But now the tide seems to be turning. A new study published in the highly respected...

Appreciating “blue space”, a body of water that you can sit and look at, and taking time out of the busy farming day, is something East Lothian Farmer Stuart McNicol only knows too well. Since October, he has committed to jumping in a sauna two to three times per week...

Statement from Neil Wilson, Executive Director of the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland (IAAS). IAAS would like to remind customers of Scottish auction markets about the need for vet attestation numbers to accompany non-assured prime livestock if...

Scotch Beef is now high fashion in Milan after Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) relaunched the Scotch Beef Club in Italy, focussing on increasing exports to this high-profile, premium market. To celebrate the relaunch, an audience of leading foodservice stakeholders in the...

Scottish consumers are still very much in love with the humble banger - last year the Scottish sausage market grew by more than 14% (Source: Kantar) - and a new brand of sausage has been launched to take advantage of this double digit growth. Scotland's biggest pork...

After some downward pressure at the start of 2024, the GB Standard Pig Price (SPP) pig price has been trending relatively stable in February and March. However, there have been some signs of seasonal increase when the lightest and heaviest pigs are removed from the...

IAAS is giving a lukewarm welcome to the eventual release of new conditionality measures as part of the Agricultural Reform Route Map on Tuesday 26th March. Specifically, it was helpful to hear exactly how the Government proposes to add conditions to the Scottish...

Browns Food Group has welcomed Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal to commemorate the official opening of the company's upgraded and extended facilities with an ambitious vision to achieve £100 million of retail sales of Specially Selected Pork by 2030. HRH The...

A farmer’s daughter and former P.E teacher has strengthened the Farmstrong Scotland team by taking on the role of Programme Co-ordinator. Anna Dunlop and her family farm beef cattle and sheep in Annan, Dumfriesshire, however, her passion for farming stems from her...

IAAS would like to remind all vendors using Scottish auction marts to sell their livestock, that the sale of pregnant animals through the prime and cull rings is not allowed. This is in breach of animal health and welfare regulations. We have had some recent incidents...

With scanning results looking good this year on many of Scotland’s sheep farms, nutrition expert, Calum Littlejohn of East Coast Viners, is urging farmers to focus on quality feeding over the next few weeks to maximise healthy and straight forward lambing. “Many are...

The latest figures from the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland (IAAS) show a positive year for livestock markets in Scotland with increased throughput and prices across every class in the 2023 financial year. Totalling a turnover of £664.5m, the...

Experts have used research and data to show sheep farmers’ labour demands and costs can be reduced at the same time as improving work life balance by following some simple steps. Working smarter was the take-home message from a webinar entitled ‘Reducing Flock Input...

Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2024, running from March 4th to March 8th, is poised to celebrate the invaluable contributions of apprenticeships to individuals, employers, and Scotland's economy. The annual event serves as a platform to champion the merits of work-based...

Celebrating - and safeguarding the future - of the UK-grown carrot is behind the decision to hold a National Carrot Day on 3 October 2024. Chair of the British Carrot Growers Association (BCGA) and York-based carrot farmer Rodger Hobson says: “It’s time to make a bit...

Rules coming into force this year restrict the use of uninhibited urea COFCO and Velcourt trials showed Limus protected granular urea performed at least as well as ammonium nitrate (AN) and better than untreated urea Limus protected urea increases nitrogen recovery...

Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork will benefit from a record-breaking £22.9 million in new export business opportunities as a result of Quality Meat Scotland’s (QMS) attendance at last October’s Anuga trade show.  The German event forms a key part...

After a firm end to 2023, the lamb market has risen further, reaching record levels for the time of year. This month, hoggs have averaged well above 300p/kg lwt at Scottish marts, and averaged around 315p/kg in the second and third weeks of February. Price rises have...