The Scottish Government is committed to supporting rural life, rural communities and the rural economy. An important part of this agenda is its support of Scotland's livestock and livestock products industries.
Grazing land comprises over 80% of the total agricultural land in Scotland and approximately 37% of holdings in Scotland are involved in livestock farming. As a result the livestock and livestock products industry has a big impact on rural development in Scotland. The Scottish industry is also important to the UK as a whole as approximately 18.1% of all cattle and 21.7% of sheep in the UK are in Scotland.
The Scottish Government works closely with producers, processors, industry bodies, and researchers to develop policies that will maintain and improve the prosperity and sustainability of the livestock and livestock products industry.