On the farm with the Ritchie family, suppliers of quality assured Scotch Lamb

after animals make for better-tasting meat and also keep farmers like the Ritchies ahead of the game. As John says: “We’re working in a global market with lots of sheep meat being produced all over the world; for us to make a niche and stand out, we’ve got to go that extra mile so that we can say everything we produce is to a standard that no one else is really producing at the moment.” The year at Montalt starts slightly later than more southerly or low-lying farms, with lambing taking place around the second week of April. This is due to the later winters in Scottish highland areas which can sometimes see snow up to the beginning of April. For this reason it is rare to find spring or new season lamb in Scotland but as John explains, spring lamb, born in March, is often fed on concentrates and its flavour and texture can suffer without the natural grass to feed on. “Our lambs are born on grass and fed on grass right up to slaughter. We only use cereals or concentrates in really exceptional circumstances so they’re only eating what’s naturally in front of them,” he says. The Ritchies start selling their lambs around the beginning of August until December or January, sometimes keeping some back to sell in February or March the following year if they think there will be demand. This nearly-year-old meat is called hogget; it is less fashionable than lamb but it has a stronger, more mature flavour which John himself likes to eat. Whether it’s lamb or hogget, all the year’s lambs are sold before the next season’s lambing begins again in April. Ewes which have given five ‘crops’, or five years’ worth of lambs, can also be sold as mutton which is especially prized by the Muslim community. “Round about this time of year there’s a big demand in the markets for two or three-year-old ewes,” says John, “especially to take down to central England where Muslim families like to eat mutton to celebrate the end of Ramadan.” This year’s long winter has meant that Montalt Farm is running slightly behind its annual routine but, as with everything, it all balances out in the end. With the recent good weather things are catching up and with the sun on their backs, the lambs are really starting to grow. The Ritchies have just finished shearing and are now starting to make hay, which they will do while the sun shines, as the saying goes. Will they continue to make hay and keep Montalt as a family-run farm in the future? “I’ve got two daughters,” says John, “so I don’t know how keen they’ll be! Upland farming is still very family-orientated and there’s still quite a community of family farms around here, so we’re just going to keep going and see how things go in the future.”