A recent Agriland article exposes the first cracks to appear in the UK’s food chain workforce as a result of new restrictive immigration policies, with Scotland leading the warning calls. The government’s decision, which came into effect from July 2025, to remove farm and food-processing roles from the Skilled Worker visa list has already left dairy, pig, poultry, and horticultural operations scrambling to fill essential posts. In Dumfries & Galloway alone, more than 25 dairy farms formerly reliant on staff from overseas are now facing big labour gaps.
Perhaps most striking is the backing this concern gets from expert analysis: as the article notes, the Migration Advisory Committee has observed that “domestic supply is insufficient to meet demands in key sectors with sustained vacancy pressures” and that despite efforts to recruit locally, “persistent shortages remain.” For meat processors across the UK, whether sourcing animals, managing slaughter, or running secondary processing, they know first-hand that this is not just a farming issue. As we head into one of the busiest periods of the year we could be facing delays, increased costs, and potential disruptions in capacity utilisation.
We are the UKs largest trade body for the meat industry and provide expert advice on trade issues, bespoke technical advice and access to government policy makers
We are proud to count businesses of all sizes and specialties as members. They range from small, family run abattoirs serving local customers to the largest meat processing companies responsible for supplying some of our best-loved brands to shops and supermarkets.
We are further strengthened by our associate Members who work in industries that support and supply our meat processing companies.
We are the voice of the British meat industry.
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