Beef farmers penalised as the goalposts are moved
On Friday night I spoke at a meeting of the Cork/ Kerry Charolais breeders in Macroom. Even among this group of normally positive farmers, difficulties in the beef trade were weighing heavy on their minds.
Price is not the only concern. Throughout 2014, farmers have experienced difficulties in slaughtering certain categories of livestock. Particular problems relate to young bulls aged over 16 months and weighing more than 420kg carcass weight. Up to this year, there was never a real problem with bulls up to 450kg and up to two years old.
Suddenly, the goalposts have moved and farmers have faced severe cuts on everything above the new spec. Salt has been rubbed into the wound by recent communications from the beef industry that the specification for beef would be limited in future to a carcass not exceeding 380kg deadweight. This is especially an issue for the suckler herd which tends to produce the bulls that weigh heavier and the new specs have certainly raised fears about the future of the suckler herd.
For the Charolais breeders, there is good reason to be concerned. Charolais cattle were first imported into this country in the late 1960s from France. Other continental (Limousin, Simmental, Belgian Blue) came subsequently with the result that the Irish suckler herd is made up of 80% continental cattle bloodlines. These animals are ideal not only for factories but also for live exports.
Cattle farmers were encouraged by both meat processors and Teagasc to increase continental breeding to get leaner carcasses with higher proportions of high value meat cuts; plus growth rate was better. So farmers followed the market signals and now are being penalised and told that the signals have changed.
Is it any wonder the Charolais breeders I met are concerned.
ICSA has slammed the double standard of the new specs which factories say are simply a response to retailer demands in the vital UK market. UK retailer Asda has openly advised British farmers that it is a customer for young bulls up to 450kg. How can we believe Irish beef processors when they say that 380kg is a requirement?
Minister Simon Coveney recently set up a forum for resolving beef sector problems involving farm organisations, the meat processors and the state bodies. This forum will become a permanent institution, meeting four times a year.
The ICSA called for a regulator to tackle anti-competitive practices in the trade as well as ensuring that neither processors nor retailers could implement sudden and unwarranted changes to spec or price overnight. Live exports must be encouraged for the sake of competition. While the minister has been lukewarm on the need for a regulator, it is clear that the market cannot be left entirely to its own devices. Perhaps this forum, with ministerial encouragement, can solve some of the problems but it’s certain that there will have to be a new beginning if the beef sector is to prosper.
All of these factors make the future for suckling unsure. Going back to coupled payments for the suckler cow is no solution as it only leads to false increases in supply which invariably lead to lower beef prices. It really comes down to meat processors and retailers having to make up their mind if they need or want a suckler herd of one million cows in the country.
