Like all Scotland’s cattle and sheep farmers, Willie Ritch is completely dedicated to his herd

It is in the beautiful countryside and often remote farms of Scotland that the story of Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb begins: a story that starts with a passion and respect to produce the best in the world.

Scotland’s farmers are justifiably proud to be at the top of the supply chain that produces two of the world’s great products. Their passion for Scotch Beef and Scotch Lamb, both as producers and consumers, is unsurpassed. The farmers are part of a supply partnership in which every link depends on the other to maintain quality, so they have excellent relationships with the abattoirs they supply and all are part of Quality Meat Scotland’s Farm Assured Scheme. Every year inspectors, independent from Quality Meat Scotland, visit each farm, carefully checking and supporting procedures in terms of husbandry and paperwork.

The recently introduced passport system is viewed by Scottish farmers as a major innovation, which adds provenance and reassurance to their product reinforcing their product integrity further. For generations, Scottish stockmen have used their knowledge and experience to breed, cross-breed and raise the finest beef cattle and lambs in the world, and today’s farmers use their expertise to ensure that their stock’s breeding and environmentally sound feeding regimes continue to produce the superlative products that are unique to Scotland.

A key moment for all farmers in the life of their stock is the move to the abattoir and so the way the beasts are selected, transported and handled on arrival at the abattoir by the staff is fundamental to delivering only the finest end product. But of course none of this happens until the animals are checked for having two ear tags and that these correspond to the passport, an assurance requirement that ensures traceability continues along the supply chain

With thanks to Willie Ritch of East Fingask Farm, Aberdeenshire

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