Current Edition: 17 April 2004
News
Mechanical cattle grading by August
By Paul Mooney
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Mechanical grading of cattle carcases is on course to be up and running by August. This week the beef plants finally swung behind the development with 27 factories applying to the Department of Agriculture for grant aid towards purchase of machines.
The move follows lengthy negotiations between the beef plants and the Department and agreement on a timetable for the purchase and installation of the machines and for the subsequent switch over. |
John Gallagher is helped
select and weigh spring lambs by his sons Eamon, Dennis and
Mikey at Ballinamongree, Glanworth, Co. Cork.
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The move by the plants came ahead of Tuesday's closing date for grant aid.
Welcoming the industry wide decision, Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh yesterday responded by postponing the withdrawal of Department classification officers to 1 August next. This was to allow a programmed transition, he said. The switch to mechanical grading is now in full swing, he said.
The Department of Agriculture has approved three different machines for grant aid. Most of the beef plants that have applied for aid are understood to favour the German machine. But there is no obligation on the plants to all order the same make of machine.
But the Journal has learned that while all three machines have comfortably exceeded the Department's standards all three tended to underscore U grade carcases in the Dawn Midleton trial. Farmers producing better cattle could lose out if this imbalance continues.
Yesterday, Joe Walsh said that mechanical grading would improve transparency in carcase classification for both farmers and factories and would be a further step towards modernisation of the sector .
IFA livestock chairman John Bryan welcomed the developments. "Mechanical grading will give the factories the opportunity to pay farmers properly for the quality cattle that they say they want.''
But he warned that the Department would have to carry on dual grading - machines and grading officers operating side by side - until the machines were proven to farmers be working accurately across all carcase grades.
