A group of farmers who mainly specialise on finishing Aberdeen Angus cattle have told the Irish Farmers Journal they are increasingly “fed up” with how cattle are priced in locally run schemes.
There are a number of schemes operating in NI and generally paying bonuses of up to 30p/kg.
Probably the most attractive is the Tesco UK Angus scheme run through Foyle Food Group which pays from a base dependent on the starting prices at the two Foyle abattoirs in England.
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However, the Tesco scheme also comes with relatively tight limits around weight and age, so not all cattle are suitable. That leaves the other schemes in NI which rely on the base quote published each week by the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC).
“It is a joke. The LMC ring up the factory for their quote and then the factory tell us our price is based on what the LMC says,” said one Co Tyrone finisher.
He pointed out that the latest base quote published by the LMC is around 626p/kg.
If you add on a 30p/kg Angus bonus, you get to the price that is actually being paid by factories for prime cattle.
“The Angus bonus is wiped out. There is actually no bonus at all,” he said.
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A group of farmers who mainly specialise on finishing Aberdeen Angus cattle have told the Irish Farmers Journal they are increasingly “fed up” with how cattle are priced in locally run schemes.
There are a number of schemes operating in NI and generally paying bonuses of up to 30p/kg.
Probably the most attractive is the Tesco UK Angus scheme run through Foyle Food Group which pays from a base dependent on the starting prices at the two Foyle abattoirs in England.
However, the Tesco scheme also comes with relatively tight limits around weight and age, so not all cattle are suitable. That leaves the other schemes in NI which rely on the base quote published each week by the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC).
“It is a joke. The LMC ring up the factory for their quote and then the factory tell us our price is based on what the LMC says,” said one Co Tyrone finisher.
He pointed out that the latest base quote published by the LMC is around 626p/kg.
If you add on a 30p/kg Angus bonus, you get to the price that is actually being paid by factories for prime cattle.
“The Angus bonus is wiped out. There is actually no bonus at all,” he said.
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