DEAR SIR: Last year the then European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan advised the Irish Government to apply for protected geographical indication (PGI) status for “beef from our grass-based suckler system”, but he warned against attempting to include all the beef we produce.

Bord Bia wants to apply for PGI status on grass-fed beef, the majority of which will have dairy origins.

Finishing cattle at 30 months has a far higher carbon footprint than finishing at 16 months

The suggestion is that grass-fed is more sustainable, but by extension does that mean that all tillage is not? The two factors that affect beef’s carbon footprint the most are feed efficiency and age of slaughter.

Feed efficiency ensures that the amount of beef produced is maximised and each day an animal is alive it consumes a certain amount of feed just to sustain itself.

Finishing cattle at 30 months has a far higher carbon footprint than finishing at 16 months. If the suggestion is that cattle finished off grass are more natural than those finished in sheds, should the same not apply to cattle started on grass, as opposed to those started on automatic feeders in sheds?

My understanding is that the current application is for steers and heifers up to 36 months (grade O- or better) and beef cows up to 120 months.

Only calves reared on their mothers from farms which meet the animal welfare components of that scheme are eligible

Young bulls which have the lowest carbon footprint are excluded but their nine-year-old mother will qualify. This spec is best suited for the cull of the suckler herd, not its development.

What the suckler sector needs is protection for its naturally reared low-carbon beef, similar to the Scotch beef PGI scheme.

Only calves reared on their mothers from farms which meet the animal welfare components of that scheme are eligible.

The Scotch beef PGI scheme includes young bulls between 12 and 16 months.

Post-Brexit, Scotch beef may no longer have access to the European market and we should be in a position to supply that market with our own Irish suckler brand. It is the image of the suckler sector that is being used to sell our beef and Bord Bia needs to protect the farmers responsible for that image.

I would hope that all farm organisations who represent suckler farmers would support a request for PGI status on suckler beef

Having applied for funding from the EU to promote Irish suckler beef last year and having acknowledged that their own research suggested that “suckler beef” resonated with key customers, I think it is wrong that they did not apply for PGI status for the same.

I would hope that all farm organisations who represent suckler farmers would support a request for PGI status on suckler beef.

If, in the future, people are looking back and wondering what could have been done to save the suckler cow, PGI status may be the answer.

If we can protect our product, we can command the price that it deserves.