“Next spring we'll see a shortage and we’ll need cattle then. There’s only one way to get you to do it and that is to pay the right price, the onus is on us.”

That was the opinion of Kepak's meat division CEO Sean Coffey who was speaking at the Dairygold beef expo at the Corrin events centre in Fermoy last week. He said that despite a difficult autumn he envisaged a shortage of cattle for next spring.

Addressing a crowd of almost 300 people, Coffey acknowledged that it is a particularly difficult time from a farmer perspective due to the weather and fodder situation throughout northern Europe and because of this it is difficult to sell beef at the moment.

He delivered a very informative presentation that would impress consumers, agri professionals or students looking at prospective careers, unfortunately it fell flat with the farmers present. After enduring a difficult year with weather and now experiencing a falling beef price they weren’t in the humour for hearing marketing buzzwords. As one farmer put it in the question and answers session.

Sustainability

“You mentioned sustainability umpteen times, is it sustainable right now? Do you think the present price is sustainable given our current cost base?”

When questioned on contracts for finishing, Coffey said he could guarantee a price structure but not a beef price.

“It’s very hard to give guarantees because we don’t get guarantees from our customers. The base will always be the market, but we will enter into price premiums with you if you deliver the right cattle on spec, on time.

"If you don’t have a future, we don’t have a future. It’s only a decade ago that Ireland was paying the second lowest price in Europe and now it is paying the second highest," Coffey added.

Dung samples

In the opening presentation of the night, Dr Doreen Corridan of Munster AI advised farmers to take dung samples and check the worm and fluke levels in their stock. She warned that currently, four in 10 livers in meat plants are showing signs of liver fluke.

The busy event also featured a live grading demonstration and presentations from Joe Burke of Bord Bia and Dairygold nutritionist Colman Purcell.