There is a stark reality facing a lot of suckler farmers – should they continue with a loss-making enterprise, or should they jump ship and change to something else?

I have recently spoken with a lot of other suckler farmers about their future. My first question is why do they currently keep suckler cows?

There were lots of answers given. Some said that their land was fit for nothing else. Some said that it was all they knew, and some that they liked farming with sucklers. The one thing that no-one said was that they were keeping sucklers because it was making them money. So it’s not hard to see why so many are switching to dairying.

Question

I often question my own farm and whether we should stick with sucklers. I wonder if there is any future for the suckler cow in Ireland, but what is more worrying – does anyone really care?

I don’t believe that many of our processors or our retail market really worry if the suckler cow becomes extinct or not. They probably think that they will still get dairy-bred beef.

But with the threat of extinction hanging over the suckler cow someone needs to do something, as it is still an important part of our rural communities. A long time ago I heard a quote: “To save a breed from extinction you must make it worth something when its dead.” In other words, the meat from an endangered animal must be valuable to help save the breed.

Here lies our problem. The meat from the suckler cow is not providing that superb eating experience. So much of the suckler beef ends up as mince, and eating this product isn’t going to last long in anyone’s mind.

We need to be producing an eating experience for the whole family. We need them to be talking about the beautiful food they had and reinforce the desire to have it again regularly. So why is the consumer not getting this?

Price

We could blame the farmer for not producing beef of the right quality. But the farmer produces what the market wants based on the price structure that’s in place.

Our base price in NI is a U-3, and that is part of the problem. If we drop into a U4 for fat, we are penalised.

But every time I kill an animal for home use, I make sure that it is at least a four for fat, and anyone who knows anything about the eating quality of beef will do the same.

The meat plants will say that the supermarket doesn’t want fat on beef. Instead it wants something that looks good on the shelf and without fat, so that everyone will think that there’s no waste

I have eaten beef bought in the supermarket and it just doesn’t compare with my own beef. So how do we change things?

Educate

Firstly, we must educate consumers and retailers about what makes good-quality beef. Granted, there is a lot of good work being done by various organisations, including the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC), but we must all work harder.

It is difficult to break down the barriers that exist, but we must try.

For me, a subsidy on the suckler cow would be like putting a plaster on a broken leg. I think that the only way to save the suckler cow is to produce an unforgettable eating experience and the only way to do this is for everyone across the industry to work together.

If we are successful it will be a win-win situation. Good for the family, good for the supermarket, good for the meat plants and good for the farmer. But most of all, we will be saving the suckler cow.

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