Jim Power’s report into the Irish beef industry reaffirms what most beef farmers already know – that the Irish suckler beef production sector is under serious threat.

Power, who was commissioned by the IFA, is strong on the need for a suckler cow support payment.

He warns that if stronger support is not forthcoming, many suckler farmers will go out of business, with negative consequences for economic and social life in large swathes of rural Ireland, the natural landscape, and Irish agri-food exports.

“You could see a scenario where you have nothing only forestry, wind turbines and grass growing over the hedges in the west of Ireland,” he told the IFA council on Tuesday.

“From a social, natural and economic perspective, the suckler herd is worth preserving. A strong targeted suckler cow payment would go a long way to ensuring the sustainability of the suckler herd, Power reports.

Decoupling of farm payments from livestock resulted in less targeted payments and significantly impacted commercial beef farmers’ incomes.

“Given the importance of the suckler herd to certain regions, such as the west of Ireland, and the multiplier impact of direct payments in the beef sector, strong targeted payments are justified.

“The suckler herd is a key driver of economic and social stability in regions of the country where the land is not conducive to dairy farming.”

Since decoupling, there has been a significant transfer of funds from livestock to non-livestock farmers. Power outlined that direct payments are of critical importance to suckler farmers, but these payments have only increased marginally in nominal terms since 2005.

“The reality is that if policymakers want to preserve a suckler herd, interventions will be required to subsidise production.

“In the absence of this, we could conceivably be left with approximately one-third of beef farmers who have sufficient scale and are efficient, and the remainder could go out of business or switch to alternative enterprises,” warned Power.