Beef Activation Group revises its original 20% growth projection
The Beef Activation Group last week revised its original 20% growth target up to 40% (30% in volume, 10% in value) — based on greater farm profitability, processing efficiencies, R&D, breeding improvements, marketing and other initiatives.
Activation Group chairman Michael Dowling unveiled the revised target at the IFA’s annual livestock conference in Tullamore, Co Offaly.
Mr Dowling and other guest speakers agreed that the sector would require the current suckler cow welfare scheme to be extended and improved.
Mr Dowling also recommended: “Ensuring sufficient flexibility in CAP direct aids post-2013, to have a substantial coupled aid for suckler cows using calf registration to activate payments; and, negotiating sufficient implementation flexibility in EU rules to attach quality performance criteria, if needed.”
On this point, Klaus-Dieter Borchardt, a senior official in the European Commission’s agriculture directorate, said member states would retain control over how best to distribute their overall EU funding package.
Mr Dowling said efficiencies in processing and marketing could help achieve a reasonable return for farmers, and ensure that prices in Ireland are comparable with those in other member states. In regard to mechanisms to protect winter finishers, he suggested individual contract prices to allow for additional costs.
The beef group chairman also said any increase in bull beef must be market-led, noting quality standards were essential to avoid undermining Ireland’s overseas reputation as a premium beef exporter.
Other measures proposed by Mr Dowling included:
nSustained support for ICBF’s breeding programmes, and a new index to permit beef and dairy farmers to breed suitable suckler cows (reflecting maternity traits, improved fertility, ease of calving, milk yield, weight gain, etc).
nAn index for beef bulls on dairy herds (for calving ease, short gestation, high calf value, low calf mortality).
nPromotion of a breeding road map.
nFurther genomic research.
nA weight recording service.
Several speakers, including Bord Bia chief executive Aidan Cotter and Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, shared Mr Dowling’s views on the need to maintain and improve production quality standards.
Mr Coveney welcomed the revised 40% output goal, observing that livestock producers’ strong focus on exports should help sustain the sector’s current 100,000 beef farmers plus 8,000 meat processing jobs.
Farmers take beef industry prospects with pinch of salt: pages 8, 9.
