The chairman of the National Beef Association in Northern Ireland, Oisin Murnion, has told the Irish Farmers Journal that his members are totally opposed to theproposalfrom Red Tractor Assurance to move to lifetime assurance.

“It beggars belief. There are no grounds for what they have proposed. What more do these people want from farmers?” said an angry Murnion.

In Northern Ireland, over 99% of prime cattle at slaughter are assured under the Livestock and Meat Commission’s Farm Quality Assurance Scheme. This scheme also meets the requirements of the British Red Tractor scheme and a significant volume of beef from NI is sold in Britain with a Red Tractor logo. The main requirement is that an animal is on an assured farm for at least 90 days pre-slaughter.

While most cattle in NI are assured at slaughter, a significant number of smaller producers who produce weanling and store cattle are not assured. Currently it is estimated that only around 55% of finished cattle in NI would be lifetime-assured.

The argument made in NI is that with a computer-based APHIS traceability system, there is nothing to be gained from making smaller producers join the scheme. “We have a traceability system that tracks movements of every animal and is second to none. Making small farmers become assured will just put added cost and bureaucracy on to them. It is pointless,” said Murnion.

September start

According to sources in the industry, senior officials from Red Tractor are due to visit NI in September. While Red Tractor Assurance wants to move to the next stage and consider how lifetime assurance might be implemented, the mood among the local industry is that they still hope to challenge the original proposal and change minds.

Reaction in the Republic

IFA Livestock chairman Henry Burns said the review and consultation process in the UK highlighted the many different views on lifetime assurance and identified some of the practical difficulties, as well as the overall importance of quality assurance.

"Full lifetime assurance adds significant practical challenges at farm level and delivers nothing extra from the market in terms of reassuring the consumer about the high quality and standards of beef.

"The Bord Bia Quality Assurance Scheme in Ireland is very thorough, fully accredited internationally and also incorporates important sustainability principles," Burns said.