SIR, – Re ‘The good old days…’, by John Elliot in The SF’s Farmer’s View column last week.

I read John’s regular article with interest, and he's often thought-provoking, occasionally controversial, however rarely as provocative as last Friday’s issue.

My phone rang at Borderway just after 9am as a wonderful show of the best of British Limousin cattle were being judged at the National Limousin Show being held at Harrison and Hetherington’s Carlisle base.

A well-known East Lothian butcher was on the line in what can only be described as a state of serious irritation. The words ‘a steak served in a roadside diner in US or Canada will eclipse most served in top restaurants in Scotland’ were spitting furiously from his lips and, to add insult to injury, the author’s suggestion that a housewife would prefer chicken to locally produced beef from her local butcher, was, as you can imagine, a further kick in the teeth.

Not an hour later, another call, this time from Peebles, another renowned Borders family butcher was on the line, incensed by Mr Elliot’s suggestion that locally produced beef, served over the counters of quality butchers in Scotland should be second best to chicken. To say that the caller was bouncing off the ceiling with rage would be an understatement.

Mr Elliot is far better travelled than I, has a wealth of experience in the industry well beyond my own and, of course, is entitled to his opinion. However, I feel that the work that goes into marketing the best of local, quality Scottish beef by our local butchers has been seriously undermined in his comments.

There are few live prime cattle markets left in Scotland, a sign of the times? There are also few High Street butchers left, due to pressure from the multiples.

However, those that are left have made it their business to market Scottish beef to an exceptional level. The effort that has been put in to diversify in to more modern cuts, marinades, convenience meals, inspiring window displays and recipes to appeal to the modern housewife, as well as marketing to restaurants and hotels, has taken the modern local butcher to another level.

H and H’s St Boswells Mart is extremely proud to hold one of the few remaining live prime cattle sales in Scotland.

Catering predominantly for local butchers and small wholesalers, the Borders and East Lothian cattle producers, whether buying and feeding stores or breeding their own, take immense care in selecting the cattle to fit the needs of their local butcher. The ideal cover, the perfect weight and conformation, a consistency of product and beef that cooks and tastes second to none – these attributes do not come easily.

I for one, the son of a former family butcher, take my hat off to our local butchers, many of whom employ a sizeable staff. They are fighting for their lives to uphold a tradition in selling beef of provenance, heritage and traceability.

They also have a label that is recognised across the globe for its guarantee of animal husbandry second to none, free from artificial growth promoters and, in many cases, from a farm only a few miles from the shop.

These custodians of locally produced Scottish beef deserve our support and I would hope that every cattle breeder and feeder in Scotland would agree.

Scott Donaldson

FIA(Scot) FLAA

Sales director,

Harrison and

Hetherington,

and Vice-president

IAAS