Scotch Lamb will be Top of the Menu at NSA Highland Sheep

Visitors to NSA Highland Sheep on June 9th can look forward to enjoying a tasty Scotch Lamb burger courtesy of Bonar Bridge butchers, Ormiston and Watt Limited.

The event, which takes place at John Scott's Fearn Farm near Tain in Easter Ross, will see new season lamb from the farm served to visitors. Last year Scotch Lamb burgers proved very popular at the World Sheep Dog Trial Championships held at the same venue.

Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), a sponsor of NSA Highland Sheep, welcomed the commitment of the event organisers to serving local Scotch Lamb to visitors on the day.

“We are delighted to see that quality locally-produced Scotch Lamb will be top of the menu at NSA Highland Sheep next month,” said Uel Morton, QMS Chief Executive.

“It is great to see sheep farmers take pride in serving the fantastic lamb they work so hard to produce, at an event like this, held during Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink.”

The host farm supports 3300 ewes and hoggs on 1000 acres and visitors to Highland Sheep will be able to see how the various breeds have their role to play at Fearn, as well as how modern technology such as embryo transfer combines with traditional methods such as optimising grass production. 

Host farmer John Scott said the fact visitors to the event will be able to eat lamb produced on the farm and processed and butchered locally, is the “icing on the cake” for the event.

"Our grass-fed Scotch lamb is available from June through to December and it is great to support a traditional butchers shop like Ormiston and Watt,” said John Scott. “It is important to give consumers a consistent eating experience and for them to have confidence and trust in the provenance of the quality assured lamb they are eating.

Farmer Sandy Watt is one half of Ormiston and Watt Limited, which he set up along with experienced butcher Stuart Ormiston in 2013. The pair are aiming to expand their customer base as well as diversifying into catering with the help of Catriona, Sandy's cousin and Stuart's wife.

Their first venture was the sheepdog trials last year and Mr Watt was delighted with how well their Moroccan lamb burgers were received. This year, as well as attending Highland Sheep, they plan to cater at Dornoch Show and Lairg Crofters Show. 

The meat for the shop is all sourced locally and processed at Dingwall abattoir, John Munro's. At certain times of the year they use home-grown beef from Mr Watt’s pedigree Aberdeen Angus herd and also buy lambs direct from Fearn Farm and both Mr Watt and Mr Ormiston see this as an area with good growth potential.