Twenty20 is a new joint venture between Ireland’s largest dairy processor and third-largest beef processor. The programme is open to Glanbia Co-Op members and Kepak suppliers.

Dairy beef calves will have to be bought from Glanbia suppliers and those dairy farms who are selling calves will have to be members of the Twenty20 club.

This will mean all inputs such as meal, fertiliser and animal health products will have to be bought through Glanbia for both dairy and beef farmers as part of the programme. This will also mean a lifetime quality assurance model is possible. A panel of bulls will be picked to choose from that have good beef attributes and a variety of breeds are currently on this list including Holstein Friesian bulls. However, Jerseys have been excluded.

For the first two years of the programme, the club quality assurance payment and the breed bonus payment will be paid on all grades of cattle. A maximum of one animal movement is allowed under the programme, with no mart movements allowed. Farmers must finish a minimum of 25 dairy beef calves in the programme. If there are suckler calves on the farm, these can be slaughtered under the programme provided they meet the conditions set out. The carcase weight limits will be 280kg-360kg, which will eliminate some male progeny from the suckler herd. Animals that fall outside of these limits will not receive the bonuses.

Tom Finan of Kepak said: “We want to develop a closed-loop assurance model where we have digitised details on all the inputs on the farm, including all lifetime details on the animals and we feel that our customers will be willing to pay more for beef produced in a lifetime assurance model.”

Finance

Glanbia has secured a finance deal through Finance Ireland which will provide farmers with an option of getting a payment of €35/animal/month between month three and month 24 of the animal’s life. The interest rate on this €770 will be 3.75% and the money will be repaid along with interest to Finance Ireland at the point of slaughter, with the balance value of the animal issued to the farmer. Applications will open on 15 April and farmers are being asked to join for 2019 and/or 2020 in the initial phase

Sean Molloy of Glanbia said: “We feel this is a new way forward for the beef industry and if successful could revolutionise the Irish beef industry.”

All cattle slaughtered in the programme will be paid on the QPS grid as normal. The club bonus will range from €0.15 to €0.25 depending on the beef price. If the average base price is at or above €3.85/kg, the bonus will be €0.15/kg. If the beef price drops below €3.85, a higher bonus of €0.25/kg will be paid.

Average beef price used will not go below €3.50/kg to protect producers and the price paid will not go above €4.55/kg to protect customers.

The club quality payment is similar to the quality assurance payment but may involve extra producer requirements in the future to meet customer needs.

Breed bonus will be paid on Aberdeen Angus and Hereford cattle at a flat rate of €0.10/kg. The seasonality bonus will kick in at €0.06/kg in April, €0.10/kg in May and €0.06/kg in June.

For the first two years of the programme, club breed bonuses and club quality assurance will be paid on all grades of cattle to allow farmers adapt to the programme specifications.