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Paul Nolan, Dawn Meats, defended the current beef price and said that the Irish market was performing quite well when compared to the European context given all the background fluctuation in EU markets.
Nolan commented that Brexit could have huge implications for Irish beef exports and the problem at the moment was that so much was unknown about the UK’s exit strategy. He explained to farmers that the UK market has become difficult for Irish exporters in the past few months.
As a lot of the extra animals are coming from the dairy herd, there is a growing number of these animals falling out of spec
UK retailers have pushed the red tractor label in the past few months and this has resulted in British consumers being encouraged to purchase British product.
Commenting on the increased cattle kill forecast for 2017, Nolan expressed concern that as a lot of the extra animals are coming from the dairy herd, there is a growing number of these animals falling out of spec and bonus schemes due to dairy genetics.
On the topic of live exports, Nolan said he hadn’t a problem with the growing live-export trade and if the price is right farmers should seize the opportunity. He did say, however, that the industry needs to be mindful of the employment that the processing sector provides.
Animal identification regulation
Michael Murphy, dairy calf to beef farmer, called for a number of changes in animal identification regulation including the printing of dam breed on the blue identification card.
I purchased a number of crossbred animals with Jersey breeding by accident and they lost me a lot of money
Listen to “A dairy calf to beef system in Tipperary” on Spreaker.
Murphy said: “I purchased a number of crossbred animals with Jersey breeding by accident and they lost me a lot of money. These genetics will crucify the dairy calf to beef system and something has to change.”
He also called for a calf reduction scheme to help control numbers. This was met with some concerns around consumer perceptions of welfare standards on farms. Joe Healy, IFA president, told attending farmers that IFA were still progressing a possible €200 suckler cow payment and that a payment was needed if the suckler herd was to survive.
Healy also commented that the IFA were central in re-establishing the live export trade to Turkey and Libya and that this live trade was of huge importance given the projections for next year’s cattle kill.
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