Meadow Quality looks to better returns for farmers Driving better returns to livestock farmers through innovative marketing schemes and increased customer focus is the aim of Meadow Quality, created by the merger of Meadow Valley Livestock and Quality Calves. The merger establishes the largest farmer controlled livestock marketing group in the UK. Meadow Quality chief executive Peter Hambleton said: "Farmers must not expect market returns to increase on their own. By merging we will be able to implement efficiencies which will reduce the cost per animal traded. We must move from being commodity traders to meat marketers." Meadow Valley Livestock markets around 700,000 pigs, 100,000 sheep and 40,000 cattle per annum while the Quality Calves business trades around 50,000 high merit beef cross calves. NFU deputy president Michael Paske commented: "We have to drive efficiency increases across the industry if returns are to rise despite the move towards globalisation of prices. Costs must be driven from every stage of the supply chain and we must minimise the length of these chains." {{MEAT }}