After an almost two-year absence from public events, Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) is ‘back with a bang’ in a bid to regain farmer support and confidence.

That was the overwhelming message from QMS chair, Kate Rowell and new chief executive Sarah Millar, who said that the past two years had been challenging to get face to face meetings with farmers due to the covid pandemic.

However, they stressed they are listening to the views of producers and will be going ‘all out’ to meet farmers, processors and retailers at a series of special meetings and agricultural shows. They are also already meeting stakeholder groups and are working towards a review of how their quality assurance standards are set.

Speaking at a press briefing at Ingliston, Ms Rowell said: “We are aware of how tough the environment is and every penny has to be looked at, but quality assurance is what consumers are looking for and retailers want to know the right things are being done on farms,” she said.

Looking outwith the assurance schemes, she said QMS is speaking to government ministers to highlight the issues hitting farmers hard.

“We can’t lobby government, but have made them aware of how difficult the situation has become for farmers following Brexit, covid and now the war in Ukraine. Intervention is required from both governments when modelling shows costs of production have increased 70% and the situation in Ukraine is a completely external issue,” she said.

Backing up those statements, Ms Millar said: “While there are slightly more beef cattle in Scotland to kill compared to the north of England at present – which is why we lost a bit of the Scotch premium – there is a global shortage of beef and sheep meat. We have to keep presenting government with the facts, which we are doing at the Food Security Task Force meetings we have had with industry stake holders and Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon.

“The Europeans have altered the financial support available to their farmers following Ukraine. We just need to keep presenting government with the issues being faced by farmers. This is not a 12-week problem, it’s a long-term issue,” added Ms Millar.

On a more positive note, Bruce McConnachie, head of industry development, announced the launch of a new, improved Monitor Farm initiative backed by £1.79m of Scottish Government funding.

In a bid to support Scotland’s livestock industry, QMS is seeking a diverse range of producers, with a focus on seeing monitor farms make ‘real changes’ to improve profitability.

He added that the new projects would be more in-depth and run for a period of 4.5years instead of the previous three. Furthermore, much of the farm costings would be done before being introduced to the public, thereby enabling greater change within a shorter period of time.

“We aim to get right under the bonnet of the chosen businesses by looking at cash flow, employment, animal health, tax and succession planning as well as enterprise costings and in doing so, we hope to see how bold and dynamic changes can help businesses evolve,” said Mr McConnachie.

Lesley Cameron, director of marketing and communications, highlighted that 70% of QMS’s £7m budget continues to be spent on promotion which according to industry stats, saw last year’s summer campaign delivered a £3 return for every £1 spent in retail. She also added that the consumer attitude and perception of the Scotch label is strong, with a sales rise of 2% versus 2021 during Veganuary.

Ms Rowell and Ms Millar will be attending shows most weekends and there will also be a series of open Q and A member meetings all round the country, where farmers can express their concerns. “We’re buzzing with excitement to welcome people back,” concluded Ms Millar.