2025 Conference – speakers & sponsors

SAMW’s 2025 conference attracted a strong line-up of speakers and sponsors, enabling members and guests to embrace a range of key issues from how to boost livestock numbers to the impact of weight loss drugs on meat demand and the challenge of net zero farming.

 

Association president, Alan Brown, set the tone for the conference debate with his ‘Grow Baby Grow’ challenge to the nation’s political leaders (as reported in our news section).

 

No commitment on cow numbers

Jim Fairlie, Scotland’s Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, who joined the conference via video link, assured delegates of his support for the industry, describing the red meat sector as being vital to the country’s economy.

Telling the conference audience that he wanted to work to make sure the country’s red meat industry has a sustainable future, Fairlie added that he had ‘no policy to reduce livestock numbers in Scotland’.

When challenged during a question session on his presentation that his comments amounted to ‘hollow words’, the Minister said he disagreed with such a charge.

Asked to support a call to restore Scottish livestock numbers to 2020 levels, however, the Minister declined to do so, stating that it wasn’t the government’s job to say ‘keep more cows’.

More cows for me

NFU Scotland, vice president, Robert Neill, assured meat processing listeners that he for one was committed to increasing cow numbers on the family farm in the Scottish Borders, a message that went down well with delegates.

Weight loss drugs and meat demand

Andrew Niven from Scotland Food & Drink’s Knowledge Bank delivered a detailed assessment of how meat demand might be impacted by the developing use of weight loss drugs.  (A full report on his presentation is being prepared).

Net Zero challenge and success

Professor John Gilliland, a willow and livestock farmer from Northern Ireland, told delegates about his own successful journey to ‘Beyond net zero’, urging the UK to ‘get its act together’ on net zero livestock production.

A special adviser to Quality Meat Scotland and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, Prof Gilliland left the conference audience in no doubt that there is plenty of room for positivity in the future management of net zero in farming.  (A full report on this presentation is also being prepared).

Sponsors

Finally, a massive thanks to all our 2025 conference sponsors whose support for this important industry even is hugely appreciated:

• Aberdeen Electrical Services Limited
• Busch (UK) Ltd
• Dundas Chemical Company
• GM Steel Fabricators Ltd
• John Duncan Plant Hire Ltd
• Leo Group
• Meat & Livestock Classification (Vorenta)
• Peacock Salt
• Quality Meat Scotland
• Star Refrigeration

Conference displays pictured below:

 

Thanks also to ABP who supplied dry aged sirloin joints for the conference lunch.