Bord Bia has been consulting farming organisations on the protocol setting out what is expected of inspectors and farmers during beef and lamb quality assurance (QA) audits.

Bord Bia has audited 2,000 farms since the new Sustainable Beef and Lamb Quality Assurance scheme began on 24 April, and the promise of a protocol to remove uncertainty from the process was part of the new scheme.

The IFA met Bord Bia this week to discuss the contents of the protocol and Bord Bia’s QA sector manager Michael Houlihan said there was “a lot of cross-over” between the two parties. They agreed auditors would ask permission from the farmer before taking any photos, and would do so only when it can help the farmer correcting non-compliance during the four-week close-out period.

IFA livestock chair Angus Woods said it would not be necessary for farmers to assemble or pen cattle or sheep for a QA audit – a task Houlihan said was not requested by Bord Bia. The target duration of audits was confirmed to be 90 minutes.

Under the new QA scheme, a helpdesk operated by FRS is open on weekdays from 9am to 8pm to help farmers correct issues during the close-out period. There are now plans to open it on Saturdays too.

Bord Bia is due to meet with the ICMSA, the other organisation on the scheme’s technical advisory committee, before the protocol is finalised in the coming weeks.