Meeting the markets is a new concept introduced as part of the BETTER farm beef challenge. Meet the markets is a challenge tailored towards farmers who are finishing stock within the programme.

All farmers participating in the challenge must be Bord Bia quality assurance (QA) approved and must aspire to finish stock which meet all the required specifications.

Beef farmers are ultimately price-takers, so getting a superior €/kg is a must. The pricing structure for beef animals in Ireland reflects market demands around the fat and conformation scores of the animals. Therefore, in order to get better prices, farmers must meet both demands to achieve above and beyond the base price – see Table 1 for details. Liveweight must also be measured three times annually to ensure these performance targets are being achieved.

Brian castrates all males and slaughters as bullocks at 20 to 24 months of age, while his female progeny are also brought to beef, at the slightly younger age of 20 months.

Last year, all stock finished off the farm met the minimum required spec, with the majority of them receiving a bonus as they were at the upper end of the QPS pricing system. Table 2 details the steer and heifer performance for 2017.

Brian’s farm meets QA as every extra euro he can make on stock will have a positive effect on profitability. He also feels the requirements for the scheme are in line with good farming practice.

Stock was weighed three times last year – at turnout, again during the grazing season and finally at housing. When weighed at the mid-season point, Brian’s steers were gaining 1.01kg/day while his heifers were gaining 0.93kg/day.