SCOTLAND'S WORTHY BEAST

Though native breed farmers have many reasons for choosing these sheep, they are also faced with a load of troubles. Though hardy and able to survive on rough ground, because of this most native breeds are quite small and slow growing. Jane Cooper, a breeder of Boreray sheep based in Orkney, explains that the island sheep are “best eaten as mutton when they’ve achieved their full size after 3 years.” This can cost much more than breeding sheep for lamb, as farmers have to calculate costs of keeping an animal for 3 years rather than 6 months to 1 year. It used to be valuable to keep sheep for long periods of time, as farmers could make a pretty penny off of their fleece each year, hence the value and popularity of mutton prior to the industrial revolution. However, as the wool trade declined after WWII, mutton was not cost effective. “Now there is a crisis among hills sheep farmers, and those on remote Scottish islands, who must get better prices for their mutton if they are to survive. They have vast areas of rough grazing which is ideal for nothing much else than rearing mature sheep,” Catherine Brown explains in Scottish Cookery.

Native sheep breeds are also exceptionally seasonal. Most people do not understand that meat, especially from small producers and especially in the North, is highly affected by seasons. Lambs need to grow until they are of a certain standard, and mutton needs a summer feeding in order to make sure they are healthy and have enough meat on them when eaten. Mutton should be available in Scotland from October to March, though different farmers may have different timing. For example, North Ronaldsay are best after winter because storms have washed up so much seaweed. The main issue is that the sheep should have access to nutritious summer and autumn forage, so they are able to put on a bit of fat before they are killed.

Further, because most native breeds are small, they do not meet standardized market sizes and struggle to be sold for the same prices a standard commercial sheep breed would get through supermarket suppliers. Because there’s no established market for meat and fleece, most farmers have to find their own avenues for selling their produce.

Farmers have been working around these struggles in a variety of ways. One such way is by forming cooperatives and using their breed societies as an avenue for centralization. Breed societies have been trying to work with producers to create spaces to make selling easier. One example of such a cooperative is the partnership founded between Seriously Good Butchers and a group of Hebridean farmers to create the Hebridean Sheep Cooperative. Since most Hebridean farmers in the local area only breed small flocks, the cooperative gives each breeder the opportunity to have a designated week where they bring their animals. All of the slaughter, butchering, and marketing is taken care of by the Butchery. This partnership and centralization allows small breeders to cope with their lack of consistent supply. The Hebridean Sheep Society have also been working with the wool board to get all of their wool centralized and branded, so there is a constant supply which can be marketed properly.

In terms of wool, the Natural Fibre Company is a good example of this type of cooperative. Because many farmers struggle to sell their wool for a sustainable price, and many do not have the resources to process wool into yarn to sell themselves, the Natural Fibre Company will work with farmers of specific breeds to purchase their fleeces in collective batches and partner with mills to process it into craft-grade yarn for knitting or weaving. This way, farmers don’t have to seek out independent weavers to sell their fleece to, or sell their fleece for low prices to larger, industrial boards.

In order to work around these barriers, provenance is key to farmers being able to market their meat and wool. In an article on sheep farming in Shetland in the publication 60 North (2014), Ronnie Euston, a prominent Shetland sheep breeder explains, “It’s always been my position that not having it available in the supermarkets means that you can have individual retailers still in business. As soon as the supermarkets get a hold, you’re into cost-cutting, you’re into threatening the viability of your local shops, and you’re into local shops being obliged to import meat.” By working with local shops or specific butchers, farmers attempt to build a traceable network so people can guarantee that the produce their purchasing is from local sources. “We have the story, we have the culture, we have the tradition,” Euston says when speaking of the Shetland Islands, which can be used to their advantage.

This support can be expanded further, and building more relationships is key. One example of this type of relationship-building would be to focus on better supply chains for “premium mutton products”, connecting farmers, abattoirs, butchers, proper mail delivery systems, farmers markets, and chefs.

The recent closure of Orkney’s only abattoir highlights how incredibly important every role in this supply chain is in connecting sheep farmers with customers. Because abattoirs are so few and far between, the closure of the Orkney abattoir has been disastrous for many small farmers in the area, including the entire flock of North Ronaldsay sheep. Boreray sheep farmer Jane Cooper explained what this closure means for her, saying “my business is at a standstill because Orkney abattoir closed with no notice in early January. Months of campaigning and research later and still no idea what's happening for the next couple of years.” In order to have a supply of North Ronaldsay sheep for the year, the farmers had to get 186 sheep on the ferry over to the Orkney mainland (which only runs one day a week in the wintertime), and transfer the sheep in the same day onto the overnight ferry to Shetland. They had to rest on the island over the next week before going to the small Shetland abattoir. Cooper explains how incredibly lucky this trip was, as the North Ronaldsay ferry had been cancelled for 6 consecutive weeks in the past due to weather and tides. Ideally, North Ronalsday would have had 220 to 240 sheep go to slaughter over a winter, however with the closure of the local abattoir there is no idea what the future holds or how the local farmers will be able to sustainably bring their sheep to slaughter. Long journeys to abattoirs far away can also affect the quality of the meat. Cooper explains, “stress isn't only a welfare issue; it affects meat quality even at low levels of stress hormones. One reason I suspect that the Boreray [is well liked] is [because of ] its texture. We had a system that meant they were as relaxed as is possible for the short journey to the abattoir, being unloaded by me, handled by the amazing Brian (sheep whisperer) in lairage, and stunned and killed by skilled staff soon after we dropped them off. If we can ever get not only a proper small abattoir in Orkney but mobile units to go round the isles, I suspect the texture of North Ronaldsay will improve.”

Another valuable place to focus is more government support for conservation grazing. Currently there is no proper funding system set up for farmers wanting to expand into conservation grazing. One farmer spoken to was able to rent out a piece of land from the Forestry Ministry, who was trying to promote the re-growth of a peat bog through grazing. However, because they didn’t have proper subsidies in place, there was no proper incentive for the farmer other than promoting biodiversity for the environmental sake of it.

In terms of the food industry, this relationship building can be supported through more understanding of the limitations of working with small breeds (i.e. size and seasonality), and through trying to work past market standards through further understanding of taste.