The majority of Ireland’s largest live exporters have begun a boycott of weanling sales this morning which is expected to last for seven days.

There’s been a mixed reaction to the news, with some farmers expressing a concern around the impact it will have on this week’s weanling trade. Others have rowed in behind the exporters, pointing to healthy weanlings being an important part of maintaining export demand for Irish weanlings.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal this morning Longford-based live exporter Tom Hagan said: “This isn’t just about exporters. It’s also about farmers.

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"There are more farmers buying weanlings than there are exporters buying weanlings, so it’s equally important for them that weanlings are healthy at sale. Something has to change; we can’t keep doing what we are doing, taking chances on weanlings as to whether they are healthy or not.”

We would like to get your views on next week’s planned boycott by filling out the online survey below:

https://ifj.ie/beefsurvey.