Meet the Consultant – Alastair Beattie
Hi, I’m Alastair Beattie, a Senior Agricultural Consultant based at the SAC Consulting office in Dumfries. I have been based at Barony since 2021, however, my career journey with SAC Consulting goes back much, much further, having now been employed with SAC for 29 years. I grew up on a beef and sheep farm near Annan, Dumfries. It was a highly active and enjoyable upbringing, and I would not change any part of it.
As a teenager, summertime was spent working with cattle, dipping sheep, making silage, getting cereal crop harvested, and making small hay bales with the old flat-eight system if the weather allowed. The weather definitely allowed us to make hay in 1984 and definitely did not allow in 1985 as I recall; those of you of a certain age will no doubt remember what I mean!
By the time that I was ready to leave school, I was still a bit undecided about what path to take but with six SCE Highers to my name, I decided to go to university where I studied a BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences. Four years soon flew past and before I knew it, it was time to look for a job.
After a short period on the farm at home, I started work with SAC Consulting in Dumfries during 1997, when the office was located at Midpark House – a very grand sandstone building which has since been converted into one of the many hospital buildings in Dumfries. It was during these early years that I decided to complete an MSc in Farm Business Organisation and Management (FBOM).
After several years spent working as a dairy consultant on different dairy related projects under (now retired) Dr David Roberts and Jimmy Goldie, a two-year secondment to Harper Adams University in Shropshire followed. After this, I returned to SAC Consulting in Dumfries, this time based in a new office within the Crichton campus, continuing to work on various dairy related projects.
In 2014 I made the move across to SAC Consulting. After finding my feet in the new role, I got accredited under the Fertiliser Adviser Certification and Training Scheme (FACTS) and achieved certified status through the Farm Business Adviser Accreditation Scheme for Scotland (FBAASS).
I am responsible for 95 farmer clients within the upper Nithsdale area, and I am involved in the usual range of consultancy activities including the completion of IACS applications, agri-environment and capital grant scheme applications, preparation of NVZ records, and nutrient planning.
More recently, there has been an increasing amount of work in the form of carbon auditing – notably because of the Scottish Government funding through the Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF) scheme and as a result of the carbon audit being introduced as one of the five components of the Whole Farm Plan for the Single Application Form (SAF). I’m also involved with the delivery of Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service (FAS) programme as a topic lead, and I’ve been the editor of the Farm Management Handbook since 2019. The recently released 46th edition can be found on the FAS website.
The role of an Agricultural Consultant with SAC Consulting can be extremely varied, which is what attracted me to the role, as I have an interest in all of livestock farming. Since moving to the Barony Campus in 2021, I have had the opportunity to become engaged in some teaching with students and have been involved with the delivery for several of the HND modules – a slight change of direction which I have enjoyed very much.
Outside of SAC Consulting, I am a partner in the family farm where the business is focused on finishing cattle near Annan, Dumfries with cattle currently being sold to ABP.
Alastair Beattie, Senior Agricultural Consultant, Alastair.Beatte@sac.co.uk
Posted by SAC Consulting on 11/03/2026
