The Dealer hears that Teagasc has been tying itself in knots in recent days over the grass-fed beef standard Bord Bia is developing.

The grass-fed standard will be central to Ireland’s application for protected geographical indicator (PGI) status for Irish beef.

I’m told that Teagasc boss Gerry Boyle had assured the Teagasc Authority members that the organisation was not involved in the development of the grass-fed standard.

Contradiction

However, an official Teagasc statement this week contradicted that, when it confirmed that the research body had indeed played a role.

The calculation of the proportion of the grass in the diet was based on Teagasc modelling, while the organisation also provided some technical assistance for the preparation of the PGI application.

The seemingly contradictory statements by Teagasc has IFA president Tim Cullinan asking questions, particularly about the potential exclusion of bull beef from the grass-fed standard, but it also has farmers wondering who’s right and who’s wrong.

The Dealer hears that things are moving fast.

Last week, we had crunch meetings between political parties. This weekend, I’m told there could be plenty of behind-the-scenes discussion between all involved.

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Rumblings of a row on grass-fed beef standard