Dingwall & Highland Marts Limited held their first Prime sale since the restrictions on the movement of livestock were lifted following the Foot and Mouth outbreak in England. The firm had their firs sale of over 2000 lambs in Portree on Monday the 27th August 2007 and have rescheduled sales over the next fortnight as follows.
A bountiful selection of the best of the North Highlands food and drink produce, brought together by HIE Caithness and Sutherland, was visited by HRH Prince Charles recently. Producers from throughout Caithness and Sutherland gathered together at Ackergill Tower near Wick to welcome national and local buyers.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (July, 31st ) sold 45 prime cattle and 144 prime sheep. Prime bullocks (18) averaged 128.9p (-1.6p) and sold to 145p per kg for a 505kg Belgian Blue cross from Castlecraig Farms, Nigg, to Ness Foods, Inverness, and £878.40 gross for a 720kg Limousin from Dochcarty Farm, Dingwall, to Woodhead brothers, Turriff.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (July, 24th) sold 47 prime cattle and 208 prime sheep. Prime bullocks (11) averaged 130.5p (+2.6p) and sold to 140p per kg for a for a 575kg Aberdeen Angus cross from Bridgend, Dingwall, and £831.85 gross for a 635kg Charolais cross from Pithogarty, Tain, both to Woodhead Brothers, Turriff.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd, (July 18th) sold 1,384 store cattle in the Anniversary show and sale. The Judge, Mr Alan Turnbull of Meadowend, Clackmannan, chose a 510kg senior Limousin heifer from J Munro & Son, Invercharron, Ardgay, which realised £760 to D Morrison, No.
Local Farmer and chairman of Mey Selections Danny Miller was once again beating the trail to Sainsbury's in London to highlight the growing range of high quality food products from the north of Scotland that willbe available for stores in time for Christmas. Suppliers from Mey Selections brought Christmas to Sainsburys HQ in July.
The AGM of North Highland Products in the Park Hotel Thurso was the occasion for the presentation of a bottle of Mey Selections Barrogill whisky to local farmer Arnott Coghill, who is based at Skinnet, Halkirk, in Caithness. North Highland Products offered a bottle of whisky as an incentive to farmers who completed a stock availability questionnaire.
MEY SELECTIONS RAISES ALMOST A QUARTER OF A MILLION POUNDS IN PREMIUMS FOR BEEF AND LAMB £4.6m turnover in first full trading year 25 May 2007: North Highland Products - the operating company for the Mey Selections brand - has reported a turnover of £4.6m in its first full year of operation, with around £240,000 raised in premiums over the Scottish average price in 2006. "In our first full year we have achieved a significant rise in turnover," said Danny Miller, chairman, at the company's Annual General Meeting, held last night at the Park Hotel, Thurso.
Sainsbury's popular Taste the Difference Meatballs, made from Mey Selections beef in an authentic tomato and smoky bacon sauce with added Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, beat off four other finalists to win the meat and poultry category of the Grocer Own Label Award Excellence Awards for 2007 at the Savoy Hotel, London yesterday. The award follows the product's success as the Best New Meat Product in the Meat Industry Awards in London last year.
Inver House Distillers and North Highland Products launched the first ever North Highland Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, Barrogill, as part of the prestigious Mey Selections range of food and drink products, at the Castle of Mey in Caithness today. Mey Selections Barrogill Blended Malt Scotch Whisky takes its name from the history and heritage of the Castle of Mey, the most northerly castle on the Scottish mainland just a few miles from John o'Groats.
North Highland Products, owners of the expanding Mey Selections brand, have appointed the Royal Bank of Scotland as their commercial bankers. Calum Dickson, office manager at North Highland Products, explained, "We have moved our banking to the Royal Bank of Scotland because it gives Mey Selections a local presence and the national support at corporate level that we need.
North Highland Products Ltd - which produces Mey Selections branded products - has received funds from the London-based Carbon Trust to investigate how farmers in the North Highland can reduce their carbon emissions. John Strak, Managing Director of North Highland Products, commented, "SAOS, (The Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society), asked us to join its project with several other partners in a project being financed by The Carbon Trust.
The prestigious BBC Radio 4 Food Programme paid a visit recently to Caithness, resulting in a 30 minute broadcast last weekend (March11) applauding the success of the Mey Selections brand and its parent company, North Highland Products. Sheila Dillon, the presenter of the programme, spent some time in the area visiting, amongst others, Mey Selections beef and lamb producers.
Mey Selections beef and lamb will now be available to restaurants and hoteliers in Caithness and Sutherland via Harrold Bros Butchers in Wick. On the 20th February Danny Miller, the Chairman of North Highland Products presented Neil Harrold with a signed Mey Selections Licensee certificate for display in Harrold's premises in Wick.
4 December 2006: The Mey Selections winning team scooped the Best New Beef Product Award for their recently launched Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Mey Selections Meatballs. At an awards dinner and presentation ceremony at London's Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, the prize was accepted by Anna Grundy and Amy Brech (Product Development) from Sainsburys, Dermot Slade, Development Chef at Dunbia, and John Strak, Managing Director of North Highland Products Ltd.
The importance of looking after a newly purchased bull on the first few days following it's arrival at the farm was one of the main messages to emerge from a bull management day, held on an Invernesshire farm this week, and attended by over fifty local beef producers. This was the first in a series of events, "Farming for the Future", organised by SAC in collaboration with NFU Scotland and supported by European Social Funding which aim to help producers adapt to changes following the introduction of the Single Farm Payment.
TIME: 1.00pm on Wednesday 18 October 2006 VENUE: Stemster Farms, Georgemas Steading - opposite the Georgemas junction of the A9. The future for sheep farming in Scotland will be the main topic at the first meeting of the North Sheep Discussion Group, a group set up by SAC's Thurso-based farm business consultants to support local farmers.
Mey Selections - the premium product brand launched just over a year ago - was commended in the New Business Award category at the second Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Forum Awards, 2006, held at the Drumossie Hotel, Inverness. The Award, sponsored by Aquascot Ltd, was presented for the contribution that Mey Selections has made to the North Highlands food and drink economy.
Lamb grading, sheep health, production systems and easycare sheep are among the topics to be discussed at North Sheep an open day for the sheep industry which is due to be held on Thursday the 10th August 2006, at Kirkton Farm by Melvich, Sutherland, by the kind permission of Messers W Findlayon. This free event which starts at 1.00pm has been organised by SAC and is supported by European Social Fund (ESF), Highlands and islands Enterprise (HIE), Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).
The change in farm support away from direct headage payments means that livestock producers need to improve efficiencies in production and not rely on the single farm payment to prop up the business. Learning new ideas and implementing these ideas is the way forward.
