The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) in England is seeking views from the industry on whether the current system of beef and sheep classification, based on the EUROP grading system, should be replaced, and if so, with what.

According to AHDB, with Brexit coming, this is potentially an opportune time to have an industry-wide discussion on the issue.

In particular, AHDB wants to know if there is an appetite to review beef and sheep classification.

Assuming that is the case, what elements of the current grading system might be retained, what else should be considered and how do we avoid multiple systems in various UK regions that could cause confusion post-Brexit?

Potential options include moving to a system based on meat yield and/or meat eating quality.

The other important issue for farmers is that current EU beef grading legislation also brings with it a legal requirement on factories to report prices against various grades.

In NI, prices are reported to the Livestock and Meat Commission, but without legislation, pricing could become much less transparent.

All initial responses to AHDB should be submitted by Friday 8 September by email to carcase@ahdb.org.uk.

Following that, AHDB proposes following up with a formal 12-week public consultation on the future for beef and sheep grading in the UK.