The Beef Plan movement has suggested that farmers who sold cattle through marts and private sales should be eligible for the upcoming €100m beef Brexit fund alongside those who had animals slaughtered at factories.

Beef Plan chair Eamon Corley told the Irish Farmers Journal that the money should be distributed between all farmers who sold cattle in their possession for the previous 100 days between 1 September 2018 and 30 April 2019.

Payment should be prioritised so that the lower income farm sectors get paid first

This should include weanlings and stores, as well as finished cattle, whether they were sold through a mart, private sale or to a factory.

According to the Beef Plan, contracted feedlot cattle and factory feedlot cattle should be excluded.

All money should to go to farmers and none to factories or their stakeholders.

"Payment should be prioritised so that the lower income farm sectors get paid first," Corley added.

Average loss

The Beef Plan movement also estimated that the €100m allocated to the scheme would leave a shortfall of €150m.

Based on 1.25m cattle killed between September 2018 and April 2019 (the proposed reference period for the scheme), Corley said the average loss of €139/head observed compared with the previous year amounted to €174m.

"During the same period, we have calculated that €75.6m has been lost off the value of weanlings and store cattle that have been sold either through the marts or by private sale," Corley said.

Shortfall

"While Beef Plan are grateful for the €100m secured for this period so far, we feel that this shortfall will have to be renegotiated," he said, adding that Brexit-related losses should continue to be monitored in the future.

The movement has called for the funds to be paid out to farmers within six weeks.

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