Farmers finishing young bulls will be able to apply to the Kepak/Tirlán Twenty20 beef club this year.

Kepak has traditionally marketed a percentage of young bulls to its customer base.

“Given the strong sustainability credentials of the Twenty20 beef club, which are aligned to our customers' requirements and national GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions reduction targets, members who specialise in young bull production will now be able to do so through the programme,” a spokesperson confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal.

Kepak CEO Simon Walker said at the recent launch of the Meat Industry Ireland (MII) sustainability report that the Twenty20 beef club would be expanding to encompass sucklers and young bulls.

The MII report stated that farmers finishing young bulls should do so in tandem with a beef processor, so that they have a “secure market” for their stock.

Bull beef systems can reduce GHG emissions by up to 32% compared with a typical 24-month bullock system.

Calves from Tirlán suppliers’ herds are reared and finished on dairy or beef farms and processed in a Kepak factory in the club.

Kepak has said that over 25,000 cattle have been processed through the beef club to date and that it continues to expand.

It is set to announce more details of the enhanced 2023 programme offering in the coming weeks.

Oversubscribed

The first year of the club in 2019 had a target of 6,000 calves and was oversubscribed. It had a target of 20,000 calves for 2020 and 50,000 for 2021 and future years.

However, at 25,000 head, it appears the target for 2021 and 2022 has been missed.

“So far, approximately 1,500 farmers have registered to produce calves and weanlings for the programme and over 300 farmers have finished cattle right through to slaughter.

“To date, 10% of the animals processed are originating from the suckler herd and we see this expanding, as more suckler farmers and specialist finishers see the economic benefit of finishing a percentage of high genetic merit dairy beef calves with their own suckler-bred stock,” the Kepak spokesperson added.