Shetland Livestock Marketing Group going bust.

[paulb]

How odd it is that the council have thrown millions upon millions of pounds into salmon farming when a lot of those firms have gone bust. but the poor crofting/farming industry will be allowed to suffer for at most a 100,000. What do the council think will happen to the crofting community if the only place they can sell the livestock goes bust. the impact will be very bad. every animal will have to be transported off the island. this adds to the cost and impacts on the animals welfare. then we will lose one of our slaughter houses just when we should be looking at home grown food.

The councillor's that voted against the aid to SLMG should think about there future. how many depend on the crofter/farming community support when they want to be elected.

lets not forget the 20 odd jobs involved as well.

I suppose i should not be be surprised with this brain dead council. they will over spend on highly inflated schemes in lerwick but cut the country services. this may not hurt the lerwick residents but it will have a terrible effect on island life.

if there is no market for the livestock then expect the number of animals to decline. sheep are not the most profitable animals to keep at the moment adding further cost on will be very bad.

[Malachy]

The council's abandonment of the agriculture industry is an utter disgrace. Almost unbelievable.

[brokenlink]

Do we know who voted for and against the support of £25,000?

[paulb]

10 voted against it 9 for.

seems to have been lead by the normal bunch of vested interests

Farmer and Shetland south member Allison Duncan attacked SLMG as a "Mickey Mouse outfit" that was only looking after themselves and "didn't give a damn for the rest of the agriculture industryâ€, a remark that councillor Caroline Miller described as "offensive".

funny this councillor is opposed to a lot of things that would help the crofting industry.

slmg may not be the best but what we have. its a hell of a lot cheaper to improve a service than to start again.

i hope the council are a shamed.

what makes it even sadder is when a certain Mr cluness said

Reacting to Mr Eunson's comments, council convener Sandy Cluness said last night that it had not been the council's intention to put SLMG out of business

what did they think would happen if they don't get the support.

[paulb]

Councillors heard yesterday that new EU regulations on de minimis payments prevented the council from supporting any business that was in trouble before summer 2008. As such, the approved support of £12,500 toward a business plan might also prove to be in breach of the rules

so the council should never help local groups/firms that are in trouble. so we can only give money to the rich and successful or members of there family. so no more loans to any iffy brothers or cousins then thats very good to hear

[penfold]

It makes me wonder why a councillor who represents an area with crofting communitys in its ward is so against funding the SLMG? maybe there is something fundamentally wrong in its operation? and while I can understand peoples point of view "well they pump money in to this and that without a care" when the project is something they feel empathy with. I smirk when I see the same people post on the forum when they see a project they don't have any care for or they believe isn't run properly.

[paulb]

he seems to be stuck in the idea that all that Shetland is good for is to rear store animals for finishing down south. this is why he opposed a new slaughter house/ the one for scalloway and the slmg. i wonder if he has ever had state aid for his business

[Malachy]

It makes me wonder why a councillor who represents an area with crofting communitys in its ward is so against funding the SLMG? maybe there is something fundamentally wrong in its operation? and while I can understand peoples point of view "well they pump money in to this and that without a care" when the project is something they feel empathy with. I smirk when I see the same people post on the forum when they see a project they don't have any care for or they believe isn't run properly.

 

Don't be fooled into thinking that the councillor you're referring to is representing anything other than his own interests.

[penfold]

On what grounds would you base that accusation malachy? If there is discord within the agriculture community within Shetland as there seems to be over this then should it not be deferred for further investigation? to assertain why there are "bad debts" to be faced and why the co-operative as it is envisaged is not working? if you take a look at the aims of the group in early 2002 it does not seem to have achieved its intial aims.

 

Im not saying that agriculture should not be supported in rural marginal areas, but it should be subject to the same scrutiny that people wish to see other industries subjected to. If there is a substainable market in finishing animals for the the meat industry in Shetland and then onwards for export, then why does the SLMG need subsidy? and if it does then by all means do so, but under the same criteria applied to every other industry.

 

http://www.profitwithoutsubsidy.co.uk/profit-without-subsidy/study/32/shetland-livestock-marketing-group--taste-shetland.html?PHPSESSID=tk86spb7gr52cn4mbg7onh5dh1

[Malachy]

On what grounds would you base that accusation malachy? If there is discord within the agriculture community within Shetland as there seems to be over this then should it not be deferred for further investigation?

I wouldn't have said there was real discord within the agriculture community. We're talking about a very small number of individuals (two that I can think of off the top of my head) who strongly oppose SLMG for reasons that probably are not best described as altruistic. For crofters in Shetland, the Marts is an essential part of the way their businesses work. Without it, their income is likely to be reduced even further.

 

to assertain why there are "bad debts" to be faced and why the co-operative as it is envisaged is not working? if you take a look at the aims of the group in early 2002 it does not seem to have achieved its intial aims. Im not saying that agriculture should not be supported in rural marginal areas, but it should be subject to the same scrutiny that people wish to see other industries subjected to.

SLMG is a co-op, so it's inevitable that it is run without lots of extra cash swilling around. They have explained that their current financial problems stem from an unpaid debt of £50,000 from Faroe. I don't see a reason to disbelieve them. Agriculture needs to be supported locally, just as our other indigenous industries are.

 

If there is a substainable market in finishing animals for the the meat industry in Shetland and then onwards for export, then why does the SLMG need subsidy?

This is a market that is open to some people - mainly larger farmers in the most fertile areas. But do we really want Shetland to be entirely given over to non-native breeds to be sold to the Scottish market? Surely we want a local industry that also produces local animals for the local market?

[paulb]

thats fair enough but then this also applies to the fishing/fish farming industries. also to retail and shipping. not forgeting the leasure areas.

no money to anything that may go bust.

but in the mean time the crofters suffer. if they dont get the 25000 they have to stop trading its that simple.

[penfold]

So on the basis of those statements Malachy then within the agricultural community in Shetland there with the exception of the two who are not in favour of the SLMG due to it possibly being detremental to their business interests? There is full membership of the SLMG?

 

Whilst native breeds should be supported and I have seen both native cattle and sheep being kept in the south mainland along with breeds that lend themselves to modern production reqirements, has the SLMG greatly increased the consumption of Shetland beef from Shetland cattle and Shetland lamb and mutton from Shetland sheep? or does the consumer still prefer to buy meat based on value at the supermarket? and disregard the provenance and quality that locally sourced meat has? (personally I prefer the locally produced product) but there are many I would profer that shop based solely on cost.

 

I do think that rural areas and tradtional industry should be supported but if the sole arguement is "well they got so, so should we" then that actually doesn't solve the core problem these areas face, all it does is help prolong the decline and increase reliance on subsidy, instead of what is not an easy job by any means looking at new ways to help them meet the challenges of the modern age.

 

You still have to answer the question on what you base your accusation that the councillor in question is out for his own interest?

[Malachy]

So on the basis of those statements Malachy then within the agricultural community in Shetland there with the exception of the two who are not in favour of the SLMG due to it possibly being detremental to their business interests? There is full membership of the SLMG?

Of course not, but we're not talking just about membership of a co-operative, we're talking about Shetland Marts. And while I don't have figures about the percentage of Shetland crofters who buy or sell animals through the Marts, I would say it was pretty high.

 

Whilst native breeds should be supported and I have seen both native cattle and sheep being kept in the south mainland along with breeds that lend themselves to modern production reqirements, has the SLMG greatly increased the consumption of Shetland beef from Shetland cattle and Shetland lamb and mutton from Shetland sheep? or does the consumer still prefer to buy meat based on value at the supermarket? and disregard the provenance and quality that locally sourced meat has? (personally I prefer the locally produced product) but there are many I would profer that shop based solely on cost.

There is a lot more that could be done and needs to be done to increase the market for local meat. Hence the importance of continuing to support the work of SLMG. I don't say the organisation is perfect, but their aims are aims that I believe should be supported.

 

You still have to answer the question on what you base your accusation that the councillor in question is out for his own interest?

Ha, there are times when using your own name on this forum suddenly makes you feel a little vulnerable. The comment I made was probably a little unwise, so I suppose it's best rephrased like this...

There are a very small number of people in the agricultural industry in Shetland whose business models (and contacts) allow them to bypass the routes taken by most crofters and farmers. This is not an option open to everyone. The vast majority of crofters and farmers are greatly benefited by the existence of the Marts, and therefore I believe that those who wish to see it close are not acting in the interests of the wider agricultural industry. Some people however may benefit from the closure (ie from the change in industry dynamics that would be brought about, or from the closure of the Laxfirth abattoir, say,). Of course this would not necessarily influence their opinion on the matter.

 

I think that's the end of my comments on this subject.

[roadslave]

So on the basis of those statements Malachy then within the agricultural community in Shetland there with the exception of the two who are not in favour of the SLMG due to it possibly being detremental to their business interests? There is full membership of the SLMG?

Of course not, but we're not talking just about membership of a co-operative, we're talking about Shetland Marts. And while I don't have figures about the percentage of Shetland crofters who buy or sell animals through the Marts, I would say it was pretty high.

 

about 40% of all livestock in Shetland go through the marts

[penfold]

I thought thats what you were meaning, though on the scale of the person in questions animal production from their small holding I would imagine he does not reach the top table of meat and livestock producers in Shetland either

 

The marts did exist before the SLMG ran it though and with ongoing management can it not continue to run without being part of the SLMG? does the marts have to go under if the SLMG does? would it not be viable on its own?

 

Agriculture in Shetland is as diverse as many other industry so why should one part be subsidised to the detrement of a part than can run at profit without local funds if thats the inference from your post that larger producers with non-crofting business models are opposed to a co-operative publicly funded to their detrement?

 

PaulB your point re: funding is what I was getting at, instead of saying right give agriculture the money they require, (and I agree with the folk in relation to what fish farming and aquaculture recieved it is a drop in the ocean) the council should say well these criteria should be met firstly, then when other industry come looking for funding and assistance the precedent has been set?

 

What you seem to be saying is you believe that the way the areas you mentioned in your post were funded was wrong, but due to your feelings on the issue re: the SLMG they should be funded in the same way as those that you believe were funded incorrectly or on poor reasoning? Is that not the type of attitude that has brought the public funding of locally based industry to a head?