The Teagasc Authority remains committed to suckler beef farmers, Teagasc chair Liam Herlihy has said.

He said Teagasc will make the necessary investments in research, education and advisory to deliver the services we provide to cattle producers.

"Our policy is to carry out quality, independent research to support farmers and the beef sector," he said.

Newly appointed Teagasc director Frank O’Mara said: “I think there is a very strong future for suckler farming in Ireland. It’s a very important industry.

“We have 70,000 suckler farmers in the country. They produce a very high-quality product and make an important contribution to every parish in rural Ireland.”

O’Mara said even though the beef sector is challenged by profitability, he believes it is a very resilient sector and said that Teagasc will continue to support it.

Future beef programme

Teagasc has announced that a new Knowledge Transfer (KT) programme called The Future Beef Programme will be introduced this year.

The programme is aimed at supporting sustainable suckler production.

The Future Beef Programme will be the new Teagasc beef demonstration farm programme that will consist of 22 suckler and beef farms spread throughout the 12 Teagasc advisory regions.

The programme will be managed by a Teagasc cattle specialist and will have two full-time Teagasc beef advisers working on it for the next five years.