Borders disorders

Earlier this year, Dumfries and Galloway became one of the worst-affected areas of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain. Amanda Afiya reports on the impact it had on tourism and the food supply chain.

While the administrative region of Dumfries and Galloway was the scene of some of the worst outbreaks of foot-and-mouth - representing 10% of the 3,745,000 animals slaughtered in Britain to date - a mixed story emerges about the impact it is having on the hospitality industry there.

The Plumed Horse restaurant in Castle Douglas, which was awarded a Michelin star in January, is currently enjoying some of its best business. "We're actually 40% up on last year," explains owner and front of house manager Charles Kirkbride.

But for Kirkbride and his partner, head chef Tony Borthwick, the past six months have not been plain sailing. In February the 30-seat restaurant experienced its best month in a year-and-a-quarter, but by April it was 40% down on turnover compared with the previous year.

"Business dipped seriously to begin with [as foot-and-mouth spread]. Everyone was talking about the infection, and at that stage people didn't know exactly how the infection was being carried," explains Kirkbride. "But then, as people started to realise that they were unlikely to come into contact with the virus, they started to dine out again and business just got better and better."

For some suppliers of local produce the experience has been too distressing for them to talk to Caterer - but producers of artisan products appear to be the worst hit.

Farmers and cheesemakers Alan and Helen Brown, who sell to catering supplier Braehead Foods from their farm at Sorbie, were forced to stop making cheese within weeks of the outbreak. "The animals went in April and we haven't been able to open our farm shop because of the restrictions since," says Helen. "And because we had to destroy our flock, we haven't been able to make any cheese for four months. But we haven't lost all our stock of cheese - we've got some mature cheeses which we produced last year."

When the stocks do run out, the Browns say they will consider buying in milk so that they can carry on their livelihood. "We've been compensated. It took a long time for the money to come through, but we've got it now. Most importantly, we haven't had any cases here in a long time. The measures being taken were very drastic in the beginning, but they seem to have worked."

For Galloway Foodservice, which supplies some 2,000 hotels, restaurants and cafés in Dumfries and Galloway and north Cumbria from its base in Dumfries, business is up 20% on last year. "But we've had to beaver away at promotions to counter foot-and-mouth," explains butchery manager Neil McCabe.

The company is the Dumfries and Galloway nominated supplier of beef from the Buccleuch Estate in Castle Douglas. "We haven't had to look elsewhere to source meat, but we've got a couple of suppliers up in Speyside that we can fall back on."

McCabe reports that there was initial panic among some of his clients, who started to stockpile fresh beef, but as its availability proved to be relatively unaffected, so people calmed down. "Prices went through the roof, though - up 50-60% on certain beef cuts - and there was a knock-on effect on prices for chicken and lamb."

At butchers J Hall & Son in Kircudbright, partner Peter Hunter says he had to source beef from an abattoir 50 miles away, rather than from Lockerbie, 35 miles away. "Lamb got pricey for a while - we had to put it up about 20p per pound - but whatever we ordered, we got, and we've had no problems sourcing beef."

The Selkirk Arms, also in Kircudbright, is 40% down on reservations (the hotel is situated near a firing range, which has been closed, so bookings made by the military have been cancelled), but the hotel's fresh supplies have not been restricted. "Our suppliers have been providing us with an alternative beef source," says joint-proprietor Susan Morris. "Lamb's been OK, and there was a bit of a shortage with pork early on, but we haven't really suffered - the suppliers have made sure of that."

At Knockinaam Lodge in Portpatrick, one of the most westerly points of Dumfries and Galloway, owner Michael Bricker says he has not experienced any problems with supplies, despite the property's remote location. "Things just got more expensive," he says. Alec Jack Butchers in Stranraer, which supplies Knockinaam, confirms that Aberdeen Angus beef is currently up by between 5% and 10% while lamb is up by 10-15%. "I've got a feeling that prices will go up again shortly because of the scarcity of quality beef," says owner Ian Jack.

"I panicked and bought in some New Zealand lamb right at the beginning - and it's still in my freezers. I've actually just started buying in local lamb in the last four weeks and had no problem sourcing it."

Because of the impact on business, the kitchen at Knockinaam is currently running two chefs down. "We didn't lay anyone off. Two left over the winter period and we haven't replaced them," says Bricker. "We normally employ 18 people, but there's just seven at the moment."

For Bricker, as is the case for many operators, all US tourist business has been lost along with a downturn in the number of people visiting from mainland Europe. "We're down more than 40% on business compared with last year," says Bricker, who has been full only twice since March. The hotel has just 10 bedrooms.

"We're not getting any help, as you know, from the Government. We're running a very, very tight show without in any way affecting our product. We've managed to keep our head above water, but it's not easy."

For the Plumed Horse, which is well known for sourcing its produce locally, supplies have also been affected. "Local lamb and beef has virtually disappeared and so we've had to go to Ayrshire for beef. The only Dumfriesshire and Galloway lamb I'm aware of is on the hills up towards Ayrshire," says Kirkbride.

The Plumed Horse normally serves a selection of local goats' cheese, but the only one it has been able to source in recent months is Rerrick from Rerrick Park Farm. "I think all the organic cheeses have been wiped out in the immediate area - all the producers have lost their animals. It's been absolutely dreadful for cheesemakers."

The road to ruin

While the Government will not speculate on whether the practice of feeding swill to pigs was the cause of the 2001 foot-and-mouth outbreak until investigations are complete, the farm at which it was first found was at Heddon-on-the-Wall in Northumberland.

According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the spread of infection is traceable to some extent. Viruses from the source farm spread to seven other farms in the area. Sheep from one of these farms were sent to Hexham market on 13 February, and they in turn were sent to markets at Longtown in Cumbria. From Longtown market, sheep were sent to markets at Carlisle and Welshpool, and to dealers at, among other places, Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway.

To date, 707,920 animals have been slaughtered in Scotland, more than half of which were in Dumfries and Galloway. The regional offices dealing with animals awaiting slaughter report that there are currently no cases in Scotland.