The Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) has named the winners of its inaugural Scotland Food & Farming Sustainability Awards.
The awards were launched to reward people and businesses in the food and farming sector who put environmental sustainability at the heart of what they do.
Winners were revealed at this year’s Royal Highland Show with the awards presented by Environment Minister Mairi McAllan.
She congratulated the award-winners and said: “I wish them every success in growing their sustainable businesses.
“The genetic diversity of our livestock are an important part of Scottish agriculture; rare breed are the result of hundreds of years of selective breeding developed to meet a range of cultural needs and a variety of environmental niches.”
The winner of the RBST champion of the year award was Alice Lennox, who helps her father Graham run Doonies Rare Breed Farm on the outskirts of Aberdeen, while sustainable farm of the year award went to Uradale farm in Shetland, which is home to native Shetland breeds of cattle and sheep.
The sustainable small farm of the year accolade went to Bob Pratley’s Tullich Highland Rare Breed Pigs enterprise on his croft near Invergordon, while the sustainable food producer of the year award was presented to Jane Cooper and the Orkney Boreray Community for work to make mutton from Orkney Boreray sheep a niche commercial product.
Other award-winners included: the sustainable produce retail outlet of the year award to Forres-based Macbeths Butchers; the sustainable farming communicator of the year award to Aberdeenshire smallholder Nikki Yoxall; and the native breed society of the year award to the Eriskay Pony Society.
RBST vice-president for Scotland, Martin Beard, said: “RBST Scotland is delighted to celebrate the innovative businesses which are leading the resurgence of sustainable food and farming in Scotland.
“The standard of entries was exceptionally high and it has been a pleasure to share the stories of such fantastic work taking place across Scotland to put environmental sustainability at the heart of food and farming.”
Conversation