Kill charges applied by local meat factories for cattle and sheep cost NI farmers over £7.5m in 2016, according to data compiled by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU).

However, the figures do not include clipping charges or levies paid by farmers to fund the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) or AgriSearch. Adding in these levies would probably push the final bill to over £8m.

The vast majority of the total cost is applied to cattle, with waste disposal charges making up £3.1m of the £7.1m total.

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DAERA veterinary costs (meat hygiene controls) passed back to farmers came to £2.1m, with a further £1.6m of charges for insurance (typically £3 per head for prime cattle, and up to £10 per head for cows).

Farmers were also charged an estimated £215,000 for VIA grading, despite it being a legal requirement for factories (not farmers) to grade cattle and report relevant prices against certain grades under EU law.

In the sheep sector, vet costs totalling £213,000 were the largest contributor to the £0.5m overall bill. Total grading costs for sheep were £109,000 and waste disposal charges were £129,000.

“It’s disappointing that [processors] have done little to reduce these costs, or indeed to be to more open about how they can be justified,” commented UFU beef and lamb chair Crosby Cleland.

With oil prices now increasing, Cleland pointed out that waste disposal costs should be moving in the opposite direction (especially given that falling oil prices was the reason cited by some meat plants for waste disposal costs to rise in 2015/2016).

“We also need a guarantee that should NI gain BSE negligible-risk status, disposal charges will drop significantly because there will be less waste,” said Cleland.

On VIA grading costs he believes that these charges should be absorbed into operating costs for meat plants and not fall to farmers.