Irish Hereford Prime has this week circulated details of its new bonus payment scheme to its 4,700 members.

The notification highlights a number of changes to the current system. The minimum qualifying carcase weight for the standard 10c/kg bonus payment has increased from 220kg to 240kg (upper limit remains at 380kg) while both steers and heifers must now grade O= or better on conformation.

This means that O- grading heifers are no longer eligible for the bonus. Group chair Niall O’Mahony says the changes have come after a review of the Irish Hereford Prime bonus scheme with processing partners ABP and Kepak along with key customers.

He said: “Market demands have made it necessary to place continued emphasis on the quality and consistency of the product we offer to our customers. Securing long-term continuity in our brand is crucial for growth.”

O’Mahony said the continuation of higher bonus payments for superior grading animals strengthens this statement. R- and R= grading animals are eligible for a 2c/kg higher bonus of 12c/kg while R+ animals will be paid a bonus of 14c/kg and U grades 16c/kg. The fat score criteria also remains constant at 2+ to 4+ as does the other eligibility criteria. This includes animals registered as HE or HEX on their passport, aged under 30 months and an approved member of the Bord Bia Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme.

There is a standard bonus of 10c/kg for cattle grading at least O= or better and meeting certain eligibility criteria.

The other change is the discontinuation of pre-booked off-season bonuses, with bonus payments remaining constant across the 52 weeks of the year. O’Mahony said: “Throughput continues to grow and last year was in the region of 50,000 cattle. The balanced supply pattern across the year along with increased demand for our beef has led us to a simplified all year round bonus.”

Pedigree heifer scheme

Going back to improving quality, O’Mahony said Irish Hereford Prime has continually striven to implement mechanisms that will improve the quality of cattle and leave its members in a better position to benefit from this. He highlighted the pedigree heifer scheme as another cog in the wheel to further improve genetics.

Heifers slaughtered through the scheme will receive a 10c/kg standard pedigree breed bonus, another 10c/kg factory bonus (paid by ABP and Kepak) along with a 20c/kg Irish Hereford Prime top-up. The Irish Hereford Society will also refund the €45 registration fee meaning that heifers accompanied by a pedigree certificate at time of slaughter and meeting the standard Irish Hereford Prime eligibility criteria would stand to get a bonus of €165 on a 300kg carcase.

Michael Cleary says the farm-to-farm sales programme and weighing service can be of real benefit to farmers. / Jeff Harvey

“The scheme is there to encourage pedigree Hereford breeders not to retain pedigree Hereford heifers that are unsuitable for future breeding. A breeder may only send progeny for slaughter under this scheme from a breeding dam once in her lifetime so we hope this will also encourage breeders to change sire selection decisions.”

Additional member benefits

Another valuable member benefit is the farm-to-farm sales programme co-ordinated by procurement officer Michael Cleary and the weighing service co-ordinated by Irish Hereford Prime field officer Tennyson Egar.

Michael says the farm-to-farm sales programme helps members source all ages of Hereford cross cattle and helps facilitate the transfer. The weighing service offers members free access to the Irish Hereford Prime weighing service which O’Mahony said will help producers achieve price premiums by hitting the desired specification and make management decisions on the back of weight analysis.