Kingdom are very different from the United States. These systems focuses on shape, fat cover, and net weight. Additionally, many were shocked to discover that marbling is not viewed as desirable to the average British consumer, and that packaging labels such as organic, and other standard certifications, are a much more important factor. While some producers along the trip shared that they would like to see a reformed grading system, others had developed their operations to thrive in the set ways. As the group headed north and into Scotland we toured Loch Ness in search of Nessie, watched live cattle auctions, and visited two beef operations that stood out from the rest of the trip; Rawburn Aberdeen Angus and Grace Noble’s Aberdeenshire Highland Beef. While in Scotland the class also enjoyed touring the country’s oldest scotch whiskey distillery, trying traditional Scottish food like haggis, and touring Ballindalloch Castle, home to the worlds oldest heard of Angus cattle. The visit to Rawburn Aberdeen Angus was very different then our other farm stops. This operation instantly stood out as the goals of the farm were much more production focused than our other visits. With their new installment of a Growsafe feed efficiency system, Rawburn is able to monitor the feed intake, average daily gain, and other data points that help them improve efficiency and be more cost effective. In later class discussions it was agreed that this was the most ‘American’ style farming we had witnessed.
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