The Irish Grass Fed Beef PGI must deliver a price premium for farmers, IFA president Tim Cullinan has said.

On Thursday, the Department of Agriculture announced that the application for the PGI was ready for submission to the European Commission for approval.

“It is farmers who have created this brand through our grass-fed animals and it is farmers that must see the return,” Cullinan said.

Cullinan said a fundamental aspect of the agreement for the PGI application is the development of a farmer-controlled suckler brand, with a budget of €6m, that will recognise the additional value in beef from suckler farms.

Changes

“The Department and Bord Bia must now move immediately to develop the suckler beef brand, to go alongside the PGI application, as agreed with [the] IFA,” he said.

In addition, it said changes secured by the IFA from the original draft included the removal of references to travel times and flexibilities on the 220 days at grass.

The assessments for the meat and fat colour will only be part of the standard Bord Bia audit at factories and will not affect the price paid to farmers for their grass-fed product.

IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said the PGI will give Ireland a chance to promote the world-renowned qualities of Irish beef while working on a brand for beef from suckler farms that promotes the quality, environmental and socio-economic benefits of this production system.

“We look forward to developing these brands to get increased returns for beef and suckler farmers,” he said.

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