Reports from the factories suggest that the market for beef is under pressure again this week, with some buyers taking 2p/kg off quotes, leaving the base quote for U-3 cattle at around 310p/kg.

However, while current prices are leaving many finishers again facing the prospect of negative margins this winter, the multitude of penalties and deductions on beef cattle is also a source of much frustration.

Over the past few months, the majority of factories have increased their kill charges, particularly for waste disposal, leaving a total charge of around £17/head plus VAT for prime cattle.

On top of that, most are being fairly strict in applying penalties for out-of-spec cattle. On a batch of cattle, the deductions can easily run to over £1,000.

According to Omagh beef farmer Ray Elkin, the deductions soon add up. “To say farmers are not happy is an understatement. Factories will soon be getting beef for half nothing,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

He recounted a recent incident where he took a Limousin bullock to the mart. Because he was unhappy with the price on offer, he decided to take the animal home. Four days later, he landed the bullock in his local factory where he was subsequently hit with a 30p/kg penalty because the animal was only in his herd for four days, and not the required 30 days. “I couldn’t believe the pay slip. I owned the bullock for the last 18 months,” said Elkin.

During his time as chair of the UFU beef and sheep committee, Elkin was at the forefront of a campaign to highlight the price differential between NI and Britain.

That culminated in a 100-page report on the issue by Oxford Economics, commissioned by the Livestock and Meat Commission.

“We are now being hit with all these penalties, but the differential is as great as ever,” said Elkin.

It is an issue still causing concern in the UFU with its deputy president Ivor Ferguson suggesting last week that Minister for Agriculture Michelle O’Neill should concentrate her efforts on the price gap (which the union maintains cost farmers £17m in 2015), rather than solely on the issue of nomad cattle. “That would be the real prize, if the minister and her officials are serious about improving profitability on local beef farms,” said Ferguson.