Autumn over-supply blamed for pulling down beef prices

CATTLE farmers have been advised to gear production for all year round supply of beef cattle to meet specific market requirements.

Gerard Brickley, Bord Bia has told farmers that supplying the EU beef trade is the way forward, because non-EU markets will take less beef from Ireland, by 2008.

He was speaking at a seminar at Adare, Co Limerick where he also expressed concern at the immediate impact on the beef trade this autumn of a lifting of the OTM (over thirty months) ban on cattle in the UK food chain.