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DEAR SIR,
Congratulations on the 2020 Vision magazine. I found it well informed, with valuable insights on where this important industry is going in the years ahead.
On the subject of beef processing, the experience of co-operatives to-date has been a very chequered one.
In the 1970s, over 40,000 farmers nationwide made a substantial investment of over £3m in the takeover of IMP Group processing. IMP accounted for over 35% of the national beef kill and its two beef processing plants in Grand Canal Street Dublin and Leixlip were regarded as among the most modern in Europe. Sadly, within a decade, the two IMP plants were closed down, to be sold off as building sites.
Beef processing moved from the greater Dublin region, to smaller and more efficient plants in rural Ireland where the cattle were sourced. This was due to various factors – the demise of the country’s rail system for commercial transport and the emergence of road transport; the availability of cheaper sites plus cheaper labour and less stringent planning laws.
Looking back, I believe the emerging beef industry did not enjoy the same level of support and encouragement from successive governments as was given to the dairy industry. A national strategy for beef is urgently needed and is the only way forward from here.
In the words of Horace Plunkett, “the work of tomorrow will largely consist of the impossible of today”. Again, well done on your 2020 Vision supplement. It’s the kind of forward thinking that is so badly needed.
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