Many comments made by farmers attending Monday night’s IFA beef information evening in Ballinasloe, Co Galway, followed a similar train of thought.

Farmers were concerned and angered that the suckler herd is the primary port of call in marketing Irish beef yet there is no differentiation in farmgate prices or added value returned to those producing this beef.

Herd diluted

Part of the frustration is stemming from the percentage of suckler beef being diluted by continued expansion in the dairy herd.

A market update delivered by Joe Burke of Bord Bia showed that the Irish suckler herd has fallen below the 1m head mark for the first time in over a decade while during the same time period the Irish dairy herd has increased by over 350,000 head to reach 1.45m head.

Calf registration data presented for 2018 up to September shows dairy calf registrations increasing by 40,000 head while suckler birth registrations reduced 33,000 head. Looking closer at calf registrations by breed, analysis for the period from January to June 2018 shows an increase in birth registrations of 3% to Friesian sires while Angus and Hereford breeds continue to record significant growth, with registrations lifting by 3% and 5% respectively.

Growth in Angus

The increase in Angus births in recent years has positioned the breed as the second most commonly used type after the Friesian breed. The use of continental sires has gone in the opposite direction, with birth registrations to Limousin and Charolais sires down 3% and 5%, respectively, while birth to Belgian Blue sires fell by 14%.

Replying to questions on whether the decline in the national suckler herd worries Bord Bia, Joe Burke said: “We have to be worried about a decline in any sector. One of our key selling points is bringing customers out to suckler and beef farms with that high-quality beef that is so coveted by our customers. The reality is that is what excites the customer. The suckler herd is equally as strong a marketing message as quality assurance and producing top-quality steers and heifers.”

We need to put structures in place that make beef production viable. If beef is not produced here it will be produced elsewhere

An added challenge to contend with is that a significant percentage of beef produced from a changing breed profile in the dairy herd is not meeting market specification. “A lot of these carcases are not actually meeting market specification so it shows the challenge that lies ahead for an industry dealing with a growing dairy herd and a declining suckler herd.”

Discussions then moved to the introduction of a greater sub-bonus being on the Quality Payment System (QPS) to reward suckler-bred cattle that have being shown to have a better meat yield, shape of cuts and consistency of product delivered.

Mayo suckler farmer Michael Biggins said from the floor: “The suckler sector cannot continue to carry the byproduct of the dairy industry on our back. My bulls produced to the best of our farm’s ability are €100 back, our good-quality cows are €120 back. Our premium product is not being sold as a premium product. It needs to be differentiated, to be like Scotch beef for example, or we will just end up with a commodity product found everywhere else.”

Pressure

Fellow county man and beef farmer Sean Clarke pointed out that pressure on farmgate beef prices are having detrimental effects further down the supply chain.

“Competition is good for good-quality cattle at the moment but if beef finishers continue to take €3.70/kg for beef we won’t be able to buy them (weanlings) for any more than €400 to €500 and that won’t support a suckler cow. We need beef prices that provide a return for all along the supply chain.”

This view was echoed by Denis Naughten, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, who said: “We need to put structures in place that make beef production viable. If beef is not produced here it will be produced elsewhere. Do we want to ship overseas where the same climate pressure will be and at the same time we decimate rural Ireland.”