Factory feedlots are tightening their grip on the beef kill, hurting competition for farmers’ cattle.

The number of cattle finished in sheds owned and controlled by processors is never revealed but is growing and likely to exceed 50,000 this year, the Irish Farmers Journal estimates.

Larry Goodman’s ABP has invested in its two feedlots in Co Louth, giving them capacity of up to 8,000 head. The group has stepped up contract arrangements under which up to a dozen farmers around the country provide finishing capacity for thousands more cattle. ABP will acquire up to 20,000 cattle this winter alone for these owned and contracted feedlots.

Remaining processors have capacity for a further 5,000 animals. All such feedlots are filled in two to three cycles per year.

Farmer concerns centre on feedlot cattle being available at times when market prices rise. This is supported in the independent report submitted by the IFA to the EU’s Directorate-General for Competition on the proposed ABP/Slaney deal.

It suggests ABP finishes 20,000 cattle in its owned feedlots and a further 20,000 in contracted feedlots. This supply gives the company bargaining power with farmers, it says. It is likely to also give competitive advantage over customers and over existing and potential competitors.

On Wednesday, the IFA’s livestock chair Angus Woods asked Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed to ensure that his officials provide full data on processor control of feedlots and rendering to DG Competition.

“The Department of Agriculture is the only agency that has this data,” Woods said.