Farmers at NSA Highland Sheep urged to seize Brexit opportunities
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FARMERS attending this week’s major sheep event in Caithness were urged to set aside their concerns over Britain’s place in Europe and instead seize the opportunities presented by Brexit.
Jeremy Moody, secretary and adviser of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, called on the sheep industry to see the bigger picture.
He was speaking in a seminar about the impact on Brexit during Wednesday's NSA Highland Sheep 2019, hosted by the Sutherland family at Sibmister Farm, Murkle. Farmers and industry professionals from across Scotland and beyond took part in a packed programme of activities.
Mr Moody said: “What Brexit does is bring politics home to the UK. Scotland gains powers with Brexit. How will we use them?”
With October 31 given as the next Brexit deadline, Mr Moody said: “Halloween is the magical witching hour.”
Look for the glass half full – there is more opportunity outside the EU than in it.
He explained that it could be a slow, painful extension that might leave farmers drifting into an unknown future.
Currently the UK exports 35-40 per cent of lamb, with 96 per cent of that going into Europe and the remaining four per cent largely going to Hong Kong.
He felt that Brexit was an opportunity to look at other markets outside the EU, stating: “If we do not adopt innovation, our competitors abroad assuredly will.
“You have to see it as an opportunity. If you want a glum Brexit you will get it. Look for the glass half full – there is more opportunity outside the EU than in it.
“I am encouraging people to seize this one by the scruff of the neck and run with it.”
During a seminar on lamb trade and marketing in a climate of indecision, Scott Donaldson, president of the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland, highlighted the quality of the product in Scotland.
He said: “I think the worst thing about our present position is that we do not know what to expect.”
Urging farmers to take control before it was too late, he said: “On a world basis, the prices have never been better so why should we expect to take less? We have a wonderful product.”
Mike Gooding, director of Farmers Fresh, told those present: “We have to be careful of how we see our future. We have to take personal responsibility for our actions.”
Farmers Fresh, part of Farmers First, is a company that has been supplying lamb to European customers since 2000.
Admitting that there was a degree of uncertainty, he promised that Farmers First would weather the storm. “What we are in business to do is to get the price of lamb up. It is our mission,” he said.
He pointed out that there was strong demand in Europe for lamb, with many customers on the continent loving the British product.
Stating that the export market was “absolutely critical”, he said that if excluded from Europe other options would lie in the Middle East, with Qatar showing an interest, as well as Japan, where lamb was considered a low-fat product.
He added: “We need to think differently, think wide and be ambitious.”
NSA Highland Sheep is a biennial one-day event organised by the representative organisation for the sheep industry, NSA Scotland.
