Factories have been urged to reopen and come forward with a strong base price by IFA president Joe Healy.

Healy said offering a strong base price would help start the process of building “some sort of trust”.

He said the potential for factories to undermine gains around bonuses by manipulating the base price was a concern.

Base price

Healy insisted that the industry should fully reopen and that farmers with animals to sell should contact their factories to “drive the hardest possible bargain on base price”.

A beef price index will be available from this week, according to Healy, who said it would help in providing greater transparency on cattle prices in the weeks ahead.

Agreement

On Sunday’s agreement, he said much of what was agreed would take time to implement: “The independent review of specifications, including the 30-month age limit, the four movements and the residency period will be very important for many farmers.

“[The] IFA is clear that if the review shows that these cannot be justified on the grounds of market access, then they should be abolished immediately.”

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