Former cabinet secretary for rural economy Fergus Ewing MSP has stepped in last minute to open next month’s Scotland’s Beef Event after the current cabinet secretary Mairi Gougeon initially accepted the invitation and then backtracked last week.
The biannual event, due to be held at Dalswinton Estate on Tuesday June 6, is expected to welcome 3,000 farmers from within the beef sector as well as more than 100 trade stands and 18 breed societies.
After confirming her attendance some time ago, event chairman Scott Henderson said it would have been ‘helpful’ to have had cabinet secretary Mairi Gougeon present but welcomed Fergus Ewing’s acceptance.
Mr Ewing opened the association’s last Scotland Beef Event in 2019 when it was held at the Milne family’s Bethelnie unit near Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire.
“This year feels like a critical moment for the beef sector,” said Mr Henderson.
“We are on the one hand facing the issue of security of food supply, while also tackling the dual crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss. On top of this, the subsidy regime is due to change in 2026. There is a lot to discuss.
“It would have been helpful to have had the cabinet secretary at the event as we do need to work with the government in order to give farmers direction for the future.
“However, Fergus Ewing MSP understands many of the challenges we are facing and we are very grateful to him for agreeing at a short notice to open our farm visit to Dalswinton.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The Rural Affairs secretary is no longer able to attend this event due to other diary commitments.
“The cabinet secretary engages regularly with representatives of Scotland’s beef sector and she will be meeting beef farmers and producers at the Royal Highland Show in June, in addition to other local shows over the summer and at Agri Scot later this year.
“Further to that the cabinet secretary will consider any other invites from the Scottish beef industry to engage and listen to their views and experiences.”
One of the highlights of the day will be the Thought Leadership seminars sponsored by Virgin Money.
The seminar programme consists of three sessions – Agricultural Support Beyond 2023, Sustainable Farming in Theory and Sustainable Farming in Practice.
Brian Richardson, head of agriculture at Virgin Money said: “Agriculture and particularly the beef sector is needing to do a lot of thinking in order to understand how they are going to work towards reducing their carbon footprint.
“Virgin Money is delighted to be supporting the Thought Leadership programme at the event. It is through work like this that we will keep Scottish Beef positioned as a world leader.”
Mr Henderson said that the Thought Leadership programme has been developed to help farmers navigate the new world we find ourselves in.
“It takes time to alter a beef herd and it is critical we discuss the best practices in achieving a sustainable future for the sector,” added Mr Henderson.
More details of Scotland’s Beef Event at Dalswinton Estate and the Thought Leadership programme are available on the Scottish Beef Association website.