Thankfully, we’ve escaped the extreme ferocity of the storms that have battered southern and coastal areas over the past few weeks, although we have got our fair share of the associated rainfall, which has left ground conditions in nothing short of a mess.

I don’t envy anyone who has to contend with flooding, damaged buildings and power outages as we enter what is normally the busiest period on livestock farms.

The soil temperature is still only 6°C here at the moment.

Due to the conditions, there is no fertilizer out yet and it’s unlikely that the manure shaker will be called into action anytime in the near future.

The same goes for the slurry tanker that has only been used for transferring slurry between tanks so far this year. While it would be nice to get some stock out, there’s no real panic here just yet, as the average farm cover is still quite low.

With the benefit of hindsight, it looks as if I made the right decision to graze off a couple of high covers last December when conditions were suitable.

While I’m still learning when it comes to grassland management, the experience of past winters in the west has taught me that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Any heavy covers left until now would have suffered from the rain and with ground conditions unsuitable for grazing, there’s a risk that quality would start to deteriorate from now on due to the constant wet weather, if it continues.

Like the weather, there’s no escaping the anger and despair that beef finishers are experiencing at the moment.

The present situation that has been allowed to develop, where farmers are facing substantial financial losses, didn’t happen by accident.

The question is – has the meat industry combined with the advisory services to set livestock farmers up for a fall?

The active encouragement of farmers to retain and finish 2012 born calves has created a glut of cattle.

Dominant players

As usual, it’s the most active farmers who stand to lose the most. Time and time again, dominant players in the market are penalising the farmers who are going out and taking on the risk of producing beef.

Luckily, there is an export trade this year for dairy-bred bull calves, which will hopefully lead to a reduction in the availability of finished cattle in 18 to 30 months time.

That’s of little comfort to anyone who’s being screwed over at present.

Many farmers with young bulls are now taking the decision to castrate but this is not without its risks.

The efficiency of these animals to put on liveweight is now irreversibly reduced.

The haphazard model that the beef industry is currently based on will have to change if there’s to be a future for Irish beef production.

The Minister has washed his hands of the situation, stating that it’s not within his remit to interfere in private enterprise, but does he not have a role to play in preventing the abuse of farmers by dominant forces in the industry?

As it stands, if anything goes wrong in the industry, the farmer – the primary producer – carries the can with no shared responsibility.

How long does the industry believe that it can keep getting away with pulling the same stunt?

Decades of protection for the industry by direct subsidies, and maybe more importantly the lack of alternatives due to milk quota, are now coming to an end.

The removal of milk quotas in 2015 will open up exciting opportunities for active, focused beef farmers to convert to what has been, historically, a vastly more profitable enterprise.

How then will cattle farmers who wish to remain in beef production be expected to compete with more profitable enterprises for land without a viable margin from the market for their produce?