Around 9,000 farmers in the Severely Disadvantaged Area (SDA) received their final Area of Natural Constraint (ANC) payment in March of this year, which came with a reduced budget of £8m, compared with the £20m in each of the two previous years. Where the ANC differed to the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), is that it required a minimum stocking density of 0.2 livestock units per hectare for the seven-month period between 1 April and 31 October.

So with the scheme gone, there is now no requirement for farmers in the SDA to retain livestock, other than as a means of keeping land eligible for BPS payments.

The full impact of the ending of ANC is therefore only starting to hit now.

The big question is: will it result in farmers reducing livestock numbers, particularly suckler cows?

Over the years we have seen the proportion of sucklers in the SDA gradually fall. In 2005, a total of 51% of all suckler cows were kept in the SDA.

By 2017 this figure had fallen to 46%. Reports from farmers in the SDA would suggest that many intend on cutting back numbers further by 2019.

That mainly is in response to low profitability in the sector, yet it is a trend that seems to be causing little or no alarm within the wider agri food industry in NI.

The fact remains that half of our beef comes from the suckler herd, and it is the same suckler herd that it used as a significant promotional tool for the wider industry.

For that alone it deserves a premium price, but we actually continue to tolerate a system where good conformation, quality cattle subsidise the price of plainer animals.

It is a point also addressed in a new movement in the Republic of Ireland called the Beef Plan.

Set up by beef farmers, it has gained significant momentum in recent weeks, producing 86 actions that range from paying a bonus for sucklers, to farmers taking more control of supply via new producer organisations, to ultimately buying an abattoir.

Some of it might not ultimately be achievable, but there are ideas in there worthy of note.

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