A UK BEEF expert is in the Island to determine how local farmers can get the most from their cattle.

Viv Harvey , a meat industry consultant, has been examining the carcasses of a number of Jersey cows to decide how local butchers could best prepare and cut their beef.

Mr Harvey’s visit was organised by the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society and the Transport and Technical Services Department and is seen as the first step towards a resurgence of a once active Jersey beef industry following the lifting of a ten-year-old ban imposed after the BSE crisis of 1996.

‘I am here to assist and advise on a grading system for Jersey cattle and also to look at how producers can get the best value from the carcass,’ said Mr Harvey.

‘The industry has not been active before, but we have a product just sitting there doing nothing and we need to look at the options for the local producers.’ Mr Harvey, who has worked with a number of meat production companies in his 25-year career, will be looking at the differences between carcasses, their strengths and weaknesses, and where the best and most healthy cuts of meat can be found on Jersey cattle.