A NEW company marketing meat from the Dales will be officially launched this weekend.

The Dales Quality Meat Company, which guarantees its beef and lamb right from "pasture to plate", is to be launched at the Dales Festival of Food and Drink, held in Leyburn tomorrow, Sunday and Monday.

The company is an independent, but wholly-owned, subsidiary of Hawes auction mart and has its base at McIntyre Meats' abattoir at Bainbridge.

Its ultimate aim is to make its Dales Beef and Dales Lamb the first choice of consumers nationwide.

The original idea came from a meeting between local farmers and the mart in early 2000, to discuss how to combat falling prices and cheap imports.

A feasibility study showed a growing market for quality meat which offered full traceability and high welfare standards, and a distinct brand was required. Then the foot-and-mouth crisis put everything on hold.

However, the McIntyre family pressed ahead with their plans to open an abattoir in the Dale and that began business last summer.

Once foot-and-mouth was over, the plans for the Dales brand moved ahead and earlier this year Defra awarded the scheme grant aid under its Rural Enterprise Grant.

"These are exciting times. DQM is a new company with a new approach; it is unique in its foundation and structure and these attributes give it its strength," said Liz Hird, general manager.

"The 'Dales' brand will be a mark of assurance for consumers and supplier farmers. Our aim is to develop a brand for the region as recognisable as Welsh Lamb or Scotch Beef."

Hawes mart has about 360 members and 1,000 suppliers, many of whom are expected to supply DQM.

Livestock farmers in the Dales of Yorkshire, Cumbria, Lancashire and Durham can register with the company via Hawes auction mart.

The area the company will draw from is mainly Defra's Pennine Dales Environmentally Sensitive Area, where farmers agree to farm in ways that protect the landscape.

Farmers who register with the company will have to meet its specific quality standards - "but they are achievable," said Mrs Hird. "Most livestock farmers in the Dales are already farming to extremely high standards of animal welfare and are following environmentally friendly practices. The 'Dales' brand therefore guarantees the product from pasture to plate."

Sarah Broadwith, adviser with Defra's Rural Development service, said DQM was the culmination of a lot of hard work by Maurice Hall, manager of Hawes mart, Liz Hird, and others.

"This is a prime example of farmers working together to create a sustainable market for their meat in a way which allows them to concentrate on production, while the company handles its marketing and promotion to as wide a market as possible," she said. "There will also be wider benefits to the local abattoir and the Dales ommunities themselves."

Initially the company is dealing in whole and half animals, but hopes to move quickly into value-added cuts and ready-to-cook meals with sauces, as well as smoked meats.

It will look at the possibility of bulk buying goods such as feed to help suppliers reduce costs, and also offer help with breeding improvement programmes.

A butcher and chef from the Meat and Livestock Commission will give demonstrations using DQM meat at the Leyburn Food Festival.

DQM will also attend North Sheep '03 at Downholme on June 4; the Royal Show at Stoneleigh and the Great Yorkshire Show at Harrogate.

Mrs Hird, a farmer's daughter from Settle, farms in Wharfedale with her husband. She previously worked as a part-time clerk at Hawes mart for more than 18 years, was a pedigree sheep society secretary, and offers B&B on the family farm, where they began selling directly to customers four years ago.

DQM has Heather Bailey in charge of marketing and PR, and Tim Prudden as office and accounts manager.