I am following the current beef talks between factories and farmers’ representatives with intense interest. The minister’s summary statement represents a real step forward.

From a beef producer’s point of view, my main interest is the price I receive and, of course, the margin but it’s hard to have a decent margin if the price is low, the market mediocre and productivity constrained.

Why the Italian market has so fundamentally changed, I am not clear

I have mentioned already that my longstanding arrangement to produce 22-month-old bulls for the Italian market has been terminated.

Why the Italian market has so fundamentally changed, I am not clear but I have to be guided by my customer when they say that I can either switch to 16-month-old bulls or steers.

I was talking to one of my neighbours who was, as we were on the phone, actually filling in one of his slatted house tanks and converting his shed into a multi-use facility, but not for beef production.

I would like to have seen the talks come up with a plan to restore faith in the market for beef and its by-products

I am also informed that leather is no longer the material of choice for covering car seats – even in luxurious models – while leather shoes seem to have almost been entirely replaced for everyday wear by “runners” – often expensive, but still runners.

So, I would like to have seen the talks come up with a plan to restore faith in the market for beef and its by-products.

In dealings with factories, the question of live weighing before slaughter is, I would have thought, already done on most serious farms.

I presume we will now see the Department and farmers have the capacity to see clear images of the carcase after the removal of the hide and, then, a clear image of the carcase at the point of weighing.

In an industry where everything has to go through such a small number of key processors, the lack of any knowledge around market returns or profitability is a clear anomaly

This should remove one of the perennial points of distrust between producer and factory – the level of trim and classification grade. The tedious examination, in a chill, when a farmer complains, should be a thing of the past.

In an industry where everything has to go through such a small number of key processors, the lack of any knowledge around market returns or profitability is a clear anomaly.

While co-ops were never able to make a success of beef processing, that does not absolve Government of the responsibility to ensure that the industry is transparent across a range of areas.

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