Scotland's West coast, post Brexit – a land for butterflies

Recently we sold our XSH calves at Lochboisdale. The best did £700 and the worst did £395, the oldest was a year on the day of the sale, some stayed on the island, the rest went to Stirling.

Our SH bull came from Macmillan, Perthshire, a big framed white bull that puts size into his calves from pure breed Highland cows.

At the sale I saw the largest cow I ever saw – a big black cow – my friend said that she would eat the same as five Highland cows, what good would two sheaves of corn be for her, she would need a rick!

Basil Lowman on a visit and talk said that the cows he saw were too big, our visiting vet from New Zealand also remarked on the size of cattle, because they are bigger than the dairy cows back home.

When asked while he was trimming the hooves of the bull before turnout, he said back home they wouldn't bother treating lameness, they would shoot it. They don't bother with vets, no money – to survive a lot of farms went together, cut back on labour, and are now huge big farms with hardly a soul to be seen.

That is a snap shot of Scotland's West coast, post Brexit – a land for butterflies.

Is this the end of Scottish beef, if the Highlands and Islands stop producing suckler calves from enormous cows because they can't afford to keep them, where will the finishers find stock?

I think that the food chain should put its house in order, too many rules, too many tapping into the livestock industry before it lands on the plate.

In my younger days, cattle were walked to market, then walked to pierheads, put onto a cattle boat to a mainland port, then by rail to a station near a farm then walk home. One can't do this anymore because of the volume of rules and the people have become lazy. Expensive trucks, and their drivers, are not working for £6.50 an hour.

Personally in my time I have witnessed the biggest folly in UK history, when England took us out of the Common market, not for the good of the nation, but for selfish Conservative reasons.

But listening to the news this week, USA has brokered a trade deal with China, Donald John has trumped Theresa May – she made fun of him when in government, now he says we will trade with Europe not UK.

Yes, cattlemen, to survive, get back to traditional cows.

"He who laughs last"

Angus A Macdonald,

Balivanich,

Benbecula