The decision by the British Red Tractor Quality Assurance Scheme to progress with lifetime assurance has been met with a mixture of anger and disbelief within the local beef industry.
At present, cattle must be at least 90 days on a quality-assured farm before slaughter to obtain farm-assured status. The Farm Quality Assurance Scheme (FQAS) in NI, owned by the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC), meets the requirements of British Red Tractor and a significant volume of beef from NI is sold to Britain with a Red Tractor logo. If Red Tractor assurance brings in lifetime assurance, we will have little option but to comply in NI.
That would have significant implications for the industry here. Figures obtained from the LMC show that 99.6% of prime cattle and 94.9% of cows and bulls are farm quality-assured at slaughter. However, only around 55% would meet the lifetime requirement. To get this figure up towards 100% will require an estimated 10,000 additional farms in NI to gain FQAS status.
ADVERTISEMENT
Register for free to read this story and our free stories.
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
The decision by the British Red Tractor Quality Assurance Scheme to progress with lifetime assurance has been met with a mixture of anger and disbelief within the local beef industry.
At present, cattle must be at least 90 days on a quality-assured farm before slaughter to obtain farm-assured status. The Farm Quality Assurance Scheme (FQAS) in NI, owned by the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC), meets the requirements of British Red Tractor and a significant volume of beef from NI is sold to Britain with a Red Tractor logo. If Red Tractor assurance brings in lifetime assurance, we will have little option but to comply in NI.
That would have significant implications for the industry here. Figures obtained from the LMC show that 99.6% of prime cattle and 94.9% of cows and bulls are farm quality-assured at slaughter. However, only around 55% would meet the lifetime requirement. To get this figure up towards 100% will require an estimated 10,000 additional farms in NI to gain FQAS status.
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS