Terrible twins who battle for justice…
Terrible twins who battle for justice…
THEY are called the terrible twins. But its said with affection and admiration for their tireless efforts to promote Scottish beef and lamb against cheap imports.
Jim Innes and Alastair Nairn have been driven from their rented farms in Banffshire to fight for survival in more public arenas.
After writing long letters of complaint to the Scottish farm minister, they are now taking direct action against restaurants serving imported beef.
Their determination to succeed is evident around the farm table at Clashnoir, high in the whisky country of Glenlivet. Alastair moved here from Ayrshire in 1982 where his background was farm contracting and forestry. He bought a 28ha (70-acre) forestry holding before selling it to take on the Crown Estate tenancy at Clashnoir.
Since the move to Banffshire, a neighbouring tenancy of Ellick has been added, giving Alastair and his son, 22-year-old Stuart, 477ha (1180 acres) for a closed flock of 1000 ewes and 100 suckler cows, plus a large overdraft.
"Stuart was considering living on his own in one of our cottages but decided to stay at home to save the cost of running two houses. Thats a measure of the economies we are having to make to get us through this crisis," explains Alastair.
Even if the family decided to sell, there is no market for their breeding cows while sheep values are down, and there is no demand for second-hand machinery.
"Until two years ago, things were going reasonably well and we could look forward to the future. Now, Im not sure there will be a future for Stuart on the farm," says Alastair.
Jim Innes has farmed in Glenlivet since 1986. His 295ha (730-acre) Deskie Farm, also part of the Crown Estate, runs 175 cows and 650 mule ewes. Although from a well-established north-east farming family, Jim is as fearful as Alastair about the viability of beef and sheep enterprises.
"If sterling stays strong and government does nothing about compensation, many hill farmers will go out of business.
"Through no fault of their own, their capital base has been removed," he says.
The pair have become firm friends and have taken their cause to the public. They have researched the buying habits of restaurants from Inverness to Elgin and targeted those using imported beef.
"What do you feel about eating Argentinean beef?" they ask bemused diners. If customers reply that they assumed it was Scottish beef, Alastair and Jim deliver their message about demanding to know the source of meat before ordering.
"We are having measurable success. The Whitbread chain has been a particular target and its bosses are now talking to the MLC in Scotland about where they can source more Scottish beef," says Jim.
THEY are called the terrible twins. But its said with affection and admiration for their tireless efforts to promote Scottish beef and lamb against cheap imports.
Jim Innes and Alastair Nairn have been driven from their rented farms in Banffshire to fight for survival in more public arenas.
After writing long letters of complaint to the Scottish farm minister, they are now taking direct action against restaurants serving imported beef.
Their determination to succeed is evident around the farm table at Clashnoir, high in the whisky country of Glenlivet. Alastair moved here from Ayrshire in 1982 where his background was farm contracting and forestry. He bought a 28ha (70-acre) forestry holding before selling it to take on the Crown Estate tenancy at Clashnoir.
Since the move to Banffshire, a neighbouring tenancy of Ellick has been added, giving Alastair and his son, 22-year-old Stuart, 477ha (1180 acres) for a closed flock of 1000 ewes and 100 suckler cows, plus a large overdraft.
"Stuart was considering living on his own in one of our cottages but decided to stay at home to save the cost of running two houses. Thats a measure of the economies we are having to make to get us through this crisis," explains Alastair.
Even if the family decided to sell, there is no market for their breeding cows while sheep values are down, and there is no demand for second-hand machinery.
"Until two years ago, things were going reasonably well and we could look forward to the future. Now, Im not sure there will be a future for Stuart on the farm," says Alastair.
Jim Innes has farmed in Glenlivet since 1986. His 295ha (730-acre) Deskie Farm, also part of the Crown Estate, runs 175 cows and 650 mule ewes. Although from a well-established north-east farming family, Jim is as fearful as Alastair about the viability of beef and sheep enterprises.
"If sterling stays strong and government does nothing about compensation, many hill farmers will go out of business.
"Through no fault of their own, their capital base has been removed," he says.
The pair have become firm friends and have taken their cause to the public. They have researched the buying habits of restaurants from Inverness to Elgin and targeted those using imported beef.
"What do you feel about eating Argentinean beef?" they ask bemused diners. If customers reply that they assumed it was Scottish beef, Alastair and Jim deliver their message about demanding to know the source of meat before ordering.
"We are having measurable success. The Whitbread chain has been a particular target and its bosses are now talking to the MLC in Scotland about where they can source more Scottish beef," says Jim.
Alastair Nairn (left) and Jim Innes…joining forces to defend Scots farming.