Annual General Meeting
Date Posted: 25th March 2020
During these unprecedented times, the Scottish National Fat Stock Club went virtual to hold their Annual General Meeting. Following a successful year in 2019 the Fat Stock Club accounts registered a profit for the 4th year running.
With planning of our events in full flow we hope they will go ahead in November. We will look to review the restrictions in place at the end of July and make a more informed decision as to whether it will be safe to hold the Premier Meat Exhibition and LiveScot. Secretary Margaret Gray stated, “We want to give our events every chance to go ahead however the safety and well-being of everyone involved is our number one priority.”
Taking on the role as Chairman is David McKerrow. David has been a member of the Fat Stock Club for over 40 years, initially doing a lot of showing in the late 70s and 80s to promote Texel sheep. “I am greatly honoured to have been elected as Chairman for the next two years” said David who has recently moved to the Borders with his family. Although this move will bring many new challenges, David is as keen as ever to make a success of The Premier Meat Exhibition and LiveScot. “Who would ever have imagined a summer without Agricultural Shows, but Covid-19 has cruelly upset normal life. However, on a positive note people have had time on their hands in lockdown to cook more and have been encouraged to shop locally. They are even more aware now of the carbon foot print of our food and of eating a healthy diet. It is therefore more important that the Scottish farming industry promotes what we produce and that the Fat Stock Club’s two events go ahead as usual in November. These two events give us an ideal opportunity to showcase Scottish quality beef and lamb while our stocksmen and women demonstrate their skills of showing cattle and sheep” concluded David.
Stepping into David’s shoes as Vice Chairman is Brian Harper. Brian is no stranger in the beef sector as he breeds many top quality calves for showing. Brian uses Limousin cross cows and Limousin bulls for their shape and style. He states that “they are ideal for the show calf market and are what people are looking for while still filling the finishing market as they are not too heavy for meeting abattoir specifications.” Brian has a continual desire to learn and improve. He gets so much satisfaction when he sees the continual improvements in his breeding programme which is then backed up by lifting trophies. But, what really makes him happy and gives him real satisfaction is encouraging young people to get involved and excited about farming. His vision for Livescot is to provide a great opportunity for young people to get involved in showing their livestock and to get a sense of achievement and encouragement from taking part, also for Livescot to be at the forefront where you can gain experience from farmers who have a lifetime of learning behind them!
At our AGM we were also delighted to welcome some new members to our Committee - namely Jenny Baillie, Andrew Best, David Cunningham, Ted Fox, Archie Hamilton, Rosemary Hunter and Gilbert Thomson. “We look forward to working with these new members and learning from their experience and gaining new ideas for the continual improvement of our events” concluded Margaret.
