Volume 9: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Part 2: Scotland
7. Setting the scene
Cattle farming

7.1 Farming in Scotland has traditionally been dominated by livestock production, both in the uplands and on the more fertile lowlands. During the period covered by this Report, over 70 per cent of land used for agriculture was hill grazing for cattle and sheep, often in mixed units. Many farms were located in hill areas, moorlands and wetlands which were officially designated as Less Favoured Areas (LFAs). ¹ Almost the whole of the Highlands and Islands area was classed as an LFA, and crofting communities were common in this region. ² The main enterprise of crofting agriculture was the production of store lambs and calves ³ on smallholdings for sale to the mainland and lowland farmers for fattening or, to a lesser degree, as breeding stock.

7.2 Cattle farming was particularly important for the Scottish agricultural economy. In March 1996 the cattle population in Scotland was about 2 million out of a UK total of approximately 12 million. ⁴ However, the structure of the industry in Scotland was somewhat different from that in the rest of the UK, with a greater focus on beef production. In 1995 the beef cattle sector accounted for 27 per cent of gross agricultural production in Scotland, compared with the UK average of 15 per cent. ⁵ For the UK as a whole, the specialist beef breeding herd, normally referred to as the beef suckler herd, accounted for 42 per cent of the total herd. ⁶ By contrast, the beef suckler herd in Scotland was almost 65 per cent of the total in 1989 and almost 70 per cent by 1995. ⁷ Beef cow holdings represented 33 per cent of total agricultural holdings. ⁸ This meant that the beef produced in Scotland was predominantly from clean cattle and relatively little was cow beef. ⁹ Dairy herds were generally far more affected by BSE than beef herds, probably because they were fed more meat and bone meal. ¹⁰ The dominance of the beef industry may therefore explain the lower incidence of BSE in Scotland than in the rest of Great Britain.

7.3 Beef finishing was an important element of beef production in Scotland during the period covered by this Report. ¹¹ Suckler beef producers were usually not in a position to finish many or any cattle unless they were in the lowlands, because of the cost of the supplementary feed required and the difficulty in obtaining it. Their animals were therefore often sold to specialist beef finishers located in the lowlands, where feed supplies were more plentiful. Between 1986 and 1996 there was also a well-defined movement of animals from South-West England to Scotland for finishing. ¹²

7.4 Beef herds in Scotland included both pedigree herds, and herds where the breeding cows were crossbred animals originating from the dairy herd, the latter type being in the majority. The Inquiry was told that the pedigree herds tended to be fed very little concentrated feed. ¹³ In 1986 the average size of a Scottish beef cattle herd was 35.8 animals, almost double the United Kingdom average. By 1996 the average beef herd size had risen to 46.8 in Scotland, and 25.8 for the United Kingdom as a whole. ¹⁴ The north east of Scotland was the major beef producing region, while Dumfries, Galloway and Strathclyde were also important. ¹⁵