Harper Adams students have delivered their findings on how best to promote the Highland Cattle Society, after partaking in a consultancy project, as part of their final business year.

Between February and May, six students from Harper Adams carried out a project to look at ways the society could increase its profile and the profile of the breed, presenting their final report to Highland Cattle Society Council members in May.

The students gathered background material and carried out research across the supply chain surveying members, consumers, restaurants, finishers, abattoirs and beef supply chain experts and gathered a wealth of material.

Society Council member Jacky Harrison, who initiated the collaboration between the society and Harper Adams University, explained a little more about what the project involved.

“I first came across this initiative - getting students involved with diversification projects - four years ago, and it occurred to me as a council member that we do need to do more to promote the breed and this collaboration could be a great project.

“The students devised a questionnaire which was sent out to our members across the regional clubs, asking them about different aspects of the breed and whether they believed they had a commercial future. They received around 144 responses, which was about 12% of our membership,” she continued.

“They also interviewed consumers outside supermarkets such as Lidl and Tesco and contacted various people across the supply chain, particularly abattoirs.

“Some of the key themes which came out of the report were the key attributes of the breed such as being low input, good converters and commercially good suckler cows for cross breeding but also valuing highland beef as a niche high quality product,” said Ms Harrison.

Members of the society came from across the UK to Harper Adams University in Shropshire to listen to the presentations and quiz the students. Sir James Paice, Vice President of the society, who farms in Cambridgeshire said: “It was heartening to learn from their research that consumers are willing to pay a premium for Highland Beef.”

Tom Thomson, last year’s President, who has a large Highland fold near Glasgow supplying a premiere supermarket chain added that “The students were quick to understand Highland Cattles’ ability to efficiently convert rough upland pasture into high protein, low cholesterol beef. We will feedback the reports’ findings to our members and assess what recommendations we can action in a cost-effective manner.”

The council are to meet and discuss the student’s findings and expressed a desire to work more closely with society members in the future to take ideas forward.