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The Irish Grass Fed Beef PGI application has been completed and Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue is to advise the European Commission of Ireland’s support for the PGI being extended on an all-island basis when it is submitted.
The Northern Ireland beef industry had hoped that the application would cover beef on an all-island basis.
However, the lack of a grass-fed verification system in Northern Ireland was a stumbling block to its inclusion. This week, it said it wanted to be involved from the “get go” and that “the last thing we want is to have to object to the Republic of Ireland’s application”.
Eligible cattle
Cattle eligible under the PGI will include steers and heifers aged up to 36 months with conformation better than O- and fat score between 2+ and 4+ and beef cows of up to 120 months with conformation better than O+ and with fat score between 2+ and 5.
Young bulls remain excluded from the application.
Scrutiny
Now, following detailed scrutiny, the minister has said his Department has determined that the application is in order to be submitted to the European Commission.
“I know that there is a detailed process which must now be completed by the European Commission in evaluating this application. However, I will be emphasising to Commissioner Wojciechowski that PGI status for our unique-quality, Irish grass-fed beef would have benefits for all those in the supply chain, principally the primary producer, at this critical time for the Irish beef sector.”
Monitoring group
The minister said that if the PGI is successfully registered, a PGI monitoring group will be established to report to the Beef Market Taskforce on progress on a regular basis, with a majority farmer representation.
Minister McConalogue said that he will continue to engage with the North’s Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots and his stakeholders in Northern Ireland to pursue an all-island PGI status and Minister McConalogue said he will work closely Minister Poots in this regard.
“This is the latest measure by me and my Department to strengthen and enhance the beef sector. I have secured €6m in funding in Budget 2021 for the marketing and branding of a suckler-based brand.”
Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy said that if granted, the PGI will be a valuable means of bolstering the reputation of Irish beef and unlock a range of market advantages to benefit Irish beef farmers.
“This submission is timely as, if successful, the PGI will help strengthen the toolkit available to us to combat the negative effects of Brexit on our beef industry, particularly given the awareness and resonance of PGIs in key continental markets. I thank all those involved in crafting and finetuning this robust submission and eagerly await the decision of the Commission.”
Beef
“Irish Grass Fed Beef” is the name given to quality Irish beef from cattle raised on a grass-based diet on pasture grazing farms in Ireland, which derive at least 90% of their feed intake from grass and spend a minimum of 220 days per year throughout their lifetime grazing pasture in accordance with the Bord Bia grass-fed standard.
Since publication of the national opposition procedure on the PGI, following feedback from stakeholders including the Beef Market Taskforce, a number of minor amendments and clarifications were made to the application.
In addition, the Department has said the European Commission will be advised of the strong views expressed that grass-fed young bulls should be included, when further data on this cohort is available to support this.
Any natural or legal person, having a legitimate interest and resident in Ireland, may appeal the decision on the application by submitting their appeal grounds to PGIappeals@agriculture.gov.ie by 3pm on Tuesday 8 December 2020.
What happens after it is submitted?
The Commission will scrutinise the PGI application in order to check that it is justified and that it meets the conditions of the respective scheme.
This scrutiny period can last up to six months or longer.
An opposition procedure will be provided at EU level whereby oppositions to the application may be lodged by a member state (other than Ireland) or third country.
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