Hugh O’Leary, Killenure, Ballybrittas, Co Laois: “The price gap between cattle here and in the UK must be closed. Our margins are way too small, our costs for things like feed, fertilizer and diesel are high. The price for the finished animal needs to be higher – the suckler farmer is barely getting enough.” Hugh buys in weanlings and generally sells them as forward stores requiring a short finish.

Pat Farrell, chairman of Kildare IFA: “The factories can clearly afford to pay more. They promised that when markets improved they would share the benefits – but they haven’t. We’re taking all the pain.”

Joe Cross, Rathangan: “I have mainly sucklers but poor beef prices will affect the price of weanlings. If fellows can’t get a decent price they won’t pay a decent price.” He does some finishing. “But the return they make won’t keep them never mind me. None of us want to get rich – we just want a decent week’s wages.”

Eugene Lawler, Moone: “It’s not fair to expect farmers to work for nothing, and lose money, while everyone else in the chain makes a profit. The Government would want to wake up – this is destroying the suckler herd. It’s evident in every mart in the country. The farmers buying cows at a sale are existing suckler farmers just replacing stock, they’re not new entrants to suckling. But the man selling is gone.” Eugene is in the process of converting from suckling to dairy.

John Dallon, Castledermot: “I’m here because week after week I’ve seen the reports in the Farmers Journal of the gap between UK and Irish prices. Last January UK price was 67c/kg higher than ours, now it’s €1/kg. At the moment 70% of our beef is going to the UK, it could be even more. Tesco are controlling a lot of it, yet they want to have their supermarkets here selling to us. The big Irish meat processors in the UK are not helpful to us.” John keeps suckler cows and finishes heifer calves to beef. “In June 2013 quality assured heifers got €5/kg on the grid, this June the same animal got €4.22. That was a drop of 78c/kg and that’s big.”

Ger Smith, Naas: “I’m here to support IFA and beef farmers. Beef price is not giving livestock farmers a living, so this action is gravely needed. I want to send a message to the Minister as well. He has to stand up and be counted. Farmers are very dissatisfied with the Minister – he’s not doing anything.”

Matt Farrell, Ballytore: “I’m a finisher. One time you could get a decent income from it, this year incomes will be very poor. It hasn’t been a good year. It’s in the national interest that farmers get a fair price for cattle, the present low prices will affect the whole country.” He buys store bullocks for finishing.