Coveney holds meeting with meat factory chiefs over beef prices
Mr Coveney said: “I had a constructive and focused meeting with the meat industry and I am hopeful that the farming organisations and the meat processing sector will work together to overcome the various issues that have caused concern in recent weeks.”
Meat factory executives were not available for comment yesterday. The IFA met with Ibec’s meat processor group, Meat Industry Ireland last month, but hasve since heldosted protests outside meat factories calling for a higher beef price.
IFA national livestock chairman, Henry Burns, said: “The factories encouraged people to keep their calves on the farm rather than send them for export. That was part of the Food Harvest 2020 goal to boost exports. As our part of the deal farmers this year raised an extra 100,000 more cattle last year than the year before, then another 100,000 this year on top of that. Now the meat factories are telling us that they don’t want the cattle, that they have no market for it.”
Mr Burns said farmers had built their breeding plans around an agreed two-year cycle. The department’s FH2020 projection was geared towards a kill of 42,000 to 43,000 cattle per week by this stage of the year. However, with the current 31,000 weekly kill, the IFA says farmers are reaching a crisis situation. The IFA says farmers are also facing weekly changes to the specifications being sought by factories. Bull beef price cuts of 150 to 300 per head had inflicted serious losses at farm level and left some winter finishers with major financial difficulties.
“Every week the factories are moving and shifting their specs for the bulls on the spot, and they are penalising farmers for failing to meet these changing specs,” said Mr Burns. “The farmer now has his back against the wall. He cannot get the price up, so he just has to take the price he’s being offered.
“Our members feels powerless and downbeat... This situation is putting the whole beef industry under threat. We’re facing a big decision now, because we won’t be able to refinance. “Farmers need to make a decision now on next year’s trade.” Does the farmer breed more beef, or start castrating bulls? We need to get a clear message from the minister and the meat factories, and we need that message now.”
At the IFA’s meeting with Mr Coveney, Mr Burns said the suckler herd is under severe pressure and the price cuts and specification limits will compound this situation, despite the positive move by the Government to introduce an 80 cow/calf payment under the new genomic scheme from 2015.
While he welcomed this initiative and the minister’s successes in developing export markets for Irish beef, the issues facing beef farmers needed more immediate solutions. He said the factory price cuts at farm level have seriously eroded confidence, and have left some winter finishers with major financial difficulties.
