Number of cows farmed in Scotland drops as craze for veganism grows

The number of cows being farmed in Scotland has dropped to a record low – sparking fears for the future of Scotch beef.

New figures show the country’s cattle population is now just 1.59million, a huge fall from the heyday of Scottish farming in 1974 when the herd totalled 2.68million.

The sharpest decline has been in the beef herd – with farmers demanding urgent action to safeguard an industry that was once a mainstay of Scottish country life.

The crisis, they claim, has partly been caused by the rise of vegetarianism and veganism – as well as the perception that beef is unhealthy and bad for the environment. A rush to plant trees has also, they say, meant a loss of land for grazing.

Beef remains a significant part of Scottish agriculture, with around 10,000 farms producing 165,000 tonnes a year – worth £850 million. But farmers have warned that any further reduction in cattle numbers could prove devastating.

The downturn in the nation’s beef herd was revealed by the Scottish Government, which last week published its annual cattle data.

Figures from December 2023 show 1,588,053 cows – the lowest on record and a 40 per cent drop from the peak in 1974.

In recent years the beef herd has been hardest hit. In 2012, Scotland had 705,564 female beef cattle – but that had fallen steadily to 612,262 by last December.

By contrast, numbers of dairy cattle have remained roughly static – with 264,370 in 2012, increasingly slightly to 266,002 by the end of last year.

Paul Ross, chair of the Scottish Beef Association which represents the country’s beef producers, said action was needed to boost farming – and support a wider industry including vets, hauliers, auctioneers, feed suppliers, butchers and shops.

He said: ‘We can’t let the number of beef cattle dip any further. Realistically, we’re never going to get back to the same number of cows in Scotland we had 20 years ago – because many farms where cows would have been kept have been bought up and planted with trees for carbon credits. In vast areas, cows have disappeared completely – which is worrying from a beef perspective. And it’s worrying because farming creates a vibrant community in upland areas. Trees don’t support the rural economy in the same way.’

Advocates of plant-based diets have argued that raising beef is bad for the planet because, in parts of the world, forests are cut down for grazing, while cattle are also fed on grain or feed with a high carbon footprint.

But Mr Ross said people were beginning to realise that beef raised locally on Scottish grassland was actually a sustainable product – and that certain vegan foods were potentially more harmful.

He said: ‘Figures are starting to show a drop in plant-based products. There was a rise in the run-up to 2020, then they levelled off, now they’re dropping… It was a bit of a fad, I think.

‘People are realising that if you eat a vegan product, the most common ingredient is soya bean meal. And a lot of soya bean meal comes from the rainforest in Brazil – or where the rainforest used to be.

‘If you analyse it and look at cattle grazing in the uplands of Scotland, there’s a huge environmental benefit in meat.’

And he added: ‘The only way you can replace red meat protein with plant based protein is to import soya bean meal. You just can’t grow protein in any great quantity in Scotland – except on four legs.’

He called for action to encourage younger people into farming, as well as fairer pricing to ensure that farming could remain profitable.

Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) is the public body responsible for promoting the Scottish red meat sector. 

Earlier this month it launched a high-profile marketing campaign called ‘Meat & 2.0’ aiming to reboot the traditional ‘meat and two veg’ menu with more modern dishes such as Scotch Beef satay stir fry.

The move is part of QMS’s strategy ‘to connect with consumers about the benefits of including red meat as part of a healthy, balanced and sustainable diet.’

The quango is also currently recruiting ambassadors to promote the benefits of Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork to communities around Scotland – by holding food and farming events, classroom sessions and cookery demonstrations.