'At the moment we are riding on the back of a brand, not on consistency, flavour and taste. Yes, much of our beef is excellent, but too many consumers can have an unsatisfactory experience'

When we senior citizens turn up at the market, our first comments are: "Well, we are still here" – but auld age does not come itself, as I found out myself a few hours after penning my last column!

I landed in Monklands Hospital with pneumonia in both lungs, on top of battling with pulmonary fibrosis for almost the past four years. I cannot praise the excellent staff enough at Monklands, in every department of the NHS, for almost four weeks of kind attention.

I am now home and hopefully on the slow road to recovery, accompanied by a wheel-chair and oxygen machine which, with good luck, will only be temporary. I'm now in the care of my super wife, Jesme, and advisory nurse, June, from Monklands Hospital.

Being back in the markets is a long way off, but most have cameras and those who do not can expect this column to give them a hard time! So, I should be able to keep up to date and of course, there is my phone that keeps me in touch around the world.

Let me comment briefly on the disappointing news that those unelected Greens still have some power at Holyrood, and extremely sorry at the loss of Kate Forbes who, despite her youth, was the brightest talent to sit beside that bunch of almost total ---------- (make up your own word)!

As I am penning these notes on a sunny, drouthy day, let us hope April brings a change for the better with the weather, especially for the thousands of ewes about to lamb and cows to calve.

April is probably the most crucial month of the year for stock farmers, with so much of one’s income at stake, especially with values where they are today. Not forgetting the arable guys who are needing dry spells to work the land and sow their grain.

The question on every beef farmer’s mind, no matter where they are in the world, is – ‘where is the beef price going next?’ Nobody has a clue.

Personally, I think it is time for some stability at both store and finishing levels. Most of the world’s big players are around £4.95 to £5/kg deadweight. The market needs to steady at that point for some time in order to give the people in the beef trade a chance to catch their breath.

READ MORE: Volatility leading beef and dairy to chaos

Looking at Irish figures, in the last 10 years there has been almost a 20% drop in suckler cow numbers, with Brussels looking for a further 30% decrease by 2030. With similar rules being demanded throughout Europe, what do politicians think the EU population is going to live on if it drops beef production by 30%.

Have these bureaucrats thought through the implications on the thousands of businesses and the vast number of people that are going to be unemployed? The numbers are incalculable, plus the damage to the economy will be in trillions of euros and that is just the beef sector.

There is more bad news, with the closure of Forfar Market and I am afraid it will not be the last one to shut its gates, given falling livestock numbers and rising costs. The only question is, who will be next?

The knock-on effect on the local butchers will be significant. From where and how will they source their cattle and sheep, coupled with the fact that there are only three abattoirs which cater for them and they are all in the west of the country.

Add to that, the haulage cost both ways and before you know it, the cost of the product is sky-high, so I am afraid there is going to be some head-scratching as a result of the Forfar closure.

With the imminent demise of the SNP as we have known it for the past number of years, the opportunity to change the EUROP grid, will have gone.

Fellow columnist, Jim Walker’s latest trip to Aussie makes it absolutely clear the changes are needed here! John Elliot, another who fills this column, is equally emphatic about the necessity for change.

For me, especially since visiting Kansas seven years ago with 30 Aberdeenshire beef farmers, plus hundreds of others in the industry, I have been convinced that the grading system here is not fit for purpose.

The knowledge is within our industry, from Nuffield Scholars to many who have travelled the world looking at how the sector works elsewhere, including SAMW. Such a change will not require a vast amount of money because there are already three excellent grading systems in the world that recognises quality beef in Australia, Canada, and US.

The adoption of any of them would be a huge step in the right direction, if Scotch Beef is going to be competitive in the world now that we have left the EU. At the moment we are riding on the back of a brand, not on consistency, flavour and taste.

Yes, much of our beef is excellent, but too many consumers have an unsatisfactory experience, causing their next purchase to be chicken or pork, or something else. The late Ian Galloway said many times that what we require is length and breadth of carcase, and to pay more for what we need and less for what we do not really want.

So, what I am saying to Scotland’s largest sector leaders is, to waken up to reality.

The dairy industry lost a stalwart with the passing of Jack Brewster, from Boclair. My memories of the Brewster family go back to showing calves at our local Coatbridge Show against Jack’s sister, Janette.

Through the 1950s and '60s our paths often crossed in the showring when Jack and his father exhibited Friesians, and my father showed Ayrshires. Jack always liked a good cow, whatever the breed and I can well remember the expression on his face when visiting the Holstein herd at Deehaven, in Cheshire, managed by Harold Nicholson.

He was amazed at the capacity, correctness and the amount of milk being produced by these super dairy cows, which certainly whetted his appetite! Always having a keen sense of humour, I have a feeling he dabbled with Holstein, unbeknown to his Friesian cohorts!

When it was mooted for the two societies – British Friesian and Holstein – to join, Jack played a large part of the early discussions, when his sound common sense helped to reach a successful merger.

Known for kind hospitality, Boclair was a popular dairy farm to visit for all ages – from schoolchildren, Young Farmers for stock-judging, discussion societies, with everyone being welcomed. We will miss his humour and stories of his many escapades and travels over the years, and our thoughts are with his lovely wife, Marion, and family at this sad time.