Some things never change, as beef price tumbles again

AS beef farmers vent their anger at falling prices this week, the industry might reflect on how little has changed in a long, long time.

Scarcity of cattle from April to June this year drove prices to a high not seen since the aftermath of the MacSharry CAP Reform. Now, strong cattle supplies are cutting the profit out of farmers’ pockets, as prices slump.

While farmers formed picket lines outside factories yet again this week, the Irish Cattle and Sheepfarmers Association was offering their ‘solution’, in the form of a Beef Strategy Board.