DEAR SIR: With regard to your article on 22 July last, which referred to the decline of the suckler herd, the writers went on to list the reasons for this decline.

While I agree with their comments, they failed to highlight the failure of the meat industry to pay an adequate price for premium quality animals.

In my opinion, Derek Deane is the only man that I have heard calling for this. My information is that on mainland Europe there is a greater difference between high-grading animals and an average dairy-cross.

This tells me that the meat factories here are not interested in paying for premium-quality animals. But this is a symptom of the market and channels of distribution. We need to find new markets and, better still, consumers who put a value on premium meat, fed a diet of the best grass, reared in a natural environment.

We have a unique product from our suckler herd, which should be preserved and sustained. This is being threatened by market changes, specifically Brexit and the impact the weak sterling will have on our beef market.

Personally aggrieved, I have recently experienced the loss of money for my meat because I had a heifer that did not score 4+, she scored 4- and therefore did not meet the quality assured bonus. I complained, but got nowhere, because I felt the heifer was not over-fat. But this doesn’t make sense to me anyway, because it is not quality assured beef. Where is the logic in this? It can be too easy to fall victim to the market due to market constraints and lack of choice. Broadly speaking, we need to look at long-term consequences of a narrow market and not lose out on choice at the consumer level and sustainability at the environmental level.

This Beef Forum, if it ever sits again, should address these issues if we are to have a viable suckler herd in the future. Your initiative with the Tullamore Farm is to be commended, but if you put the question to the large crowd at the farm walk about confidence in the future, I’m afraid the response would be negative.