DEAR SIR: It is disappointing to see the Food Vision beef and sheep group recommend culling suckler cows. I also think reducing slaughter ages and reducing the age group for first calvings in the suckler cow herd will put more work and costs on beef farming.

The Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue says he wants a positive future for beef farming, yet the policies are saying different. Pushing animals to be finished earlier will cost money.

Also, rushing suckler heifers to calf too young could cause problems with difficult calvings.

It is one thing to come up with ideas in an office and it is another when farmers have to implement these ideas.

In addition, I see more negativity with the highest cull cow numbers in the last 20 years for dairy and beef cows.

This shows a lack of leadership from the decision makers. It is time that these decision makers say whether they want a national herd reduction, instead of using the nitrates directive and Food Vision groups to drive down the numbers of livestock in the national herd.

The real issue is that the decision makers want less livestock but, will not come out and say it.

Hopefully, common sense occurs before beef production crashes and people are eating Brazilian beef.

Dairy

To end milk quotas and then try and indirectly bring them back by changing the dairy nitrates bands for dairy cows is unfair for farmers that have built up dairy herds.