Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, offers his economic analysis of the beef cattle industry as part of the weekly series known as the “Cow Calf Corner,” published electronically by Dr. Peel and Mark Johnson. Today, Dr. Peel talks about livestock production in Scotland.
Sheep production is the largest livestock industry in all of Scotland with sheep outnumbering cattle by 4 to 1. Census data from 2023 shows that the total sheep inventory in Scotland is 6.6 million head compared to the total cattle inventory of 1.68 million head. Nevertheless, cattle production is important and in many ways is symbolic of Scottish agriculture. Last week, we visited the Royal Highland Show (RHS), which is a large four-day agricultural event reminiscent of the state fairs at any major U.S. agricultural state. The logo of the RHS (below) depicts the most iconic cattle breed in Scotland, Highland cattle (photo below).
In addition to Highland cattle, many other cattle breeds can be found at the RHS, some familiar and some not so familiar. Familiar continental breeds are popular for terminal crosses including Limousin, Charolais and Simmental. Less familiar are Belgian Blue cattle, heavily muscled cattle not used in the U.S. but popular in Europe. The cattle are known as British Blue in the U.K. following Brexit. Other British breeds found at the RHS include Shorthorn, Belted Galloway, Hereford and, of course, the namesake of the city I arrived at on the ferry this morning: Aberdeen Angus. The photo below is a view of Angus cattle and the countryside near Edinburgh.
I’m finishing this article on a train from Aberdeen to Glasgow, Scotland. Below is a beautiful view of the coastline in Bressay Island in Shetland.
