Only with the will to change can meat processors and farmers be friends
That was the message last week from Agriculture Minister, Joe Walsh, farming leader John Dillon and from beef processor, Tom Finn.
Listening to them over the past week, you'd be forgiven for thinking that there had been a great conversion.
Can we now expect all to sit down and talk it over, find a solution and work as a happy family for ever more?
There is only one (little) obstacle. Each side will agree only on their own terms.
To achieve harmony, it is vital that each side makes a meaningful contribution towards the objectives of the other party.
Hopefully that will happen, but I would need to see more evidence that there is a will for change, before advising anyone to bet their last dollar on a happy outcome.
For a happy outcome, we need beef industry success, and we must remember it is the consumer who decides beef policy now by declaring what they want to spend their money on in the supermarket or butcher's shop.
Do the meat processors know what the consumer wants, and deliver it? Do they direct their suppliers the farmers to satisfy consumer requirements in good time, bearing in mind that it takes at least three years from conception of an animal to the marketing of its beef?
On the farmer's side, there must be a readiness to meet the market's quality demands, and to change if necessary to meet these demands.
That includes a guarantee that production methods are fee from any inputs in feed or supplementation which are not acceptable to the consumer.
It does not seem a lot to ask, but history has shown that getting the level of trust necessary between farmers and processors will not be easy. There is no mystery about the formula to arrive at better returns from the market place, a viable processing industry, and a realistic price for the farmer, but we're still a long ways from that objective.
