EFFICIENT sheep producers had a positive future in the new world after mid-term CAP reform, said Ian Grant, a former president of NFU Scotland, at Scotsheep 2004 last Friday.

Mr Grant is also chairman and first commissioner with Crown Commissioners, the owners the Dumfriesshire farm where Scotsheep 2004, the most successful in the event's 25-year history, was held.

More than 8,000 sheep farmers from all over the UK and Ireland attended the event, at which the hosts were Willie and Jennifer Davidson, and their son, Alisdair, at Poldean Farm, Wamphray.

Mr Grant recalled that it was almost three years to the day since the Poldean stock had been struck down by foot-and-mouth. "The Davidson family demonstrated a remarkable resilience and a determination to rebuild a livestock enterprise even stronger and better than the high-class one which had been eliminated," he said.

The mid-term review and reforms of the CAP constituted the most radical change in agricultural support policy since the UK joined the EU and since the introduction of the sheepmeat regime, said Mr Grant.

"This is not just tinkering with support systems - it is full scale redesigning of the way rural Europe is going to be run," he said. "Every farm business will have some soul searching to do in deciding its own agricultural policy against the backdrop of the new parameters."

There would be casualties, but the vast majority of farmers saw the reforms as an opportunity to get off the subsidy treadmill, expand their businesses and meet the requirements of the marketplace.

"I am firmly of the view that efficient sheep producers have a positive future in this new world," he said. "Most of Scotland's sheep production is hill and upland-based and lends itself to the 'extensively produced' label which should be appealing to consumers."

However, the price of lamb vis--vis other meats, and a lack of consistency in the end product, would continue to be a handicap in persuading housewives to buy lamb more regularly.

Describing the event, Robin Anderson, chairman of the organising committee of Scotsheep 2004, said:"It was a great day for the sheep industry in South-West Scotland and demonstrated that real confidence is returning to the industry." He also paid a warm tribute to the Davidson family.