Perthshire teen has the Scotch Farm Factor

The search for the Scotch Farm Factor is over and the winner of Quality Meat Scotland’s (QMS) national social media competition has been announced.

Fifteen-year-old Ruby Simpson from Mains of Creuchies, Perthshire, has been crowned the winner of the inaugural contest, taking home the title by demonstrating how she takes care of her animals and #FarmsWithCred.

The Scotch Farm Factor competition tasked farming teenagers in Scotland to create a short and compelling film giving a behind the scenes account of their lives on farm, telling the authentic story of everything from calving and cropping, to taking lambs to markets and farming with nature. With many members of the public disconnected with where and how their food is produced, the purpose of the competition was to showcase the high-welfare standards, sustainability credentials and provenance of farming and red meat production in Scotland, whilst connecting rural youth with their urban counterparts.

Ruby was presented with her prize at the Royal Highland Show and was thrilled to be the creator behind the winning video.

“I was so surprised when I found out I had won the competition, but what matters to me is making sure my animals are well looked after and being able to give others, from non-farming backgrounds, an insight into my daily routine on farm and what it takes to live and work as a farmer. It’s really important for our industry to maintain that connection with those who are ultimately choosing to buy our meat and showing them why it’s special.”

QMS marketing and communications director, Lesley Cameron added: “We were delighted to receive so many fantastic entries from teenagers all over the country who are passionate about their agricultural roots and to share their stories with the wider public.

“Although the competition is now over, we would encourage ‘social savvy’ youngsters to keep sharing their farming story online as it is a fantastic way of bringing our hugely important food producers to the forefront and showcasing all the hard work that goes into bringing high quality products to shop shelves.”

Ruby will now have the opportunity to continue her content creation journey with the filming kit she won and will be working alongside QMS for the rest of year to showcase different aspects of farm and industry life. Keep up to date with her life on farm via the @MakeItScotch social channels, or find out more about the Scotch brands at https://www.qmscotland.co.uk/