The Irish beef processing industry is changing on the back of lower numbers of cattle available for processing.

We are just six weeks into the new year and three different consultations or reviews of operations are underway – in two ABP factories, north and south of the border, and Kepak Clonee. These reviews will ultimately end in some redundancies.

This puts several hundred jobs at risk, and our first thoughts have to be with the people that face losing their livelihood and the upheaval that causes within families.

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We are also left wondering if there are more similar announcements to come from other companies as cattle numbers drop.

It is also a stark reminder of what a drop in output from Irish farms really means beyond the farm gate.

The Irish Farmers Journal has previously commissioned KPMG to analyse the multi-million euro impact of reduced farm output on the wider economy by cutting the national herd to comply with climate legislation. Job losses and reduced economic output were part of that impact.

These ongoing consolidations are a real-time demonstration of what losing around 200,000 head from the national kill and a further 25,000 in Northern Ireland mean in the real world.

The drop in numbers hasn’t finished at that, with a further 40,000-50,000 head expected to be shaved off the national kill in 2026.

Herd decline

Recent price rises for both weanlings and beef cattle could help to stabilise numbers but longer term predictions are for continued national herd decline in the years ahead.

So far, the consultations are confined to deboning and further processing operations in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, Clonee in Co Meath and Ferrybank in Co Waterford.

It is being emphasised that the slaughtering facilities operating on these sites will not be impacted and will continue to operate as usual. Phelim O’Neill examines in detail why factories, in the first instance, focus on the further processing part of the business for rationalisation.

The logistics of moving sides of beef to another location is not now the huge job it once was.

Investment in new technology in some of the processors’ sites has also played a role in the current situation where it doesn’t make economic sense to invest in every location. Phelim also examines why it would be more difficult to close an abattoir. In theory, this could be easily done given the layout of processing locations, but in practice it could mean losing cattle to another company.

While the abattoir side of the businesses may appear safe for now, the ongoing consultation process highlights how the success of our agrifood exports is ultimately dependent on the raw material that is produced by farmers throughout the island of Ireland.

It is also a stark reminder of the impact of not prioritising food production and the impact that this policy can have on predominantly rural-based jobs.