Galway IFA officer warns against Friesian beef glut

Farmers in the West have been advised against buying in cheap Holstein Friesian bull calves that could ‘clog up’ the beef market again in two years time.

“With the overall lift in prices across the cattle and beef sector, we know that some farmers are again going down the road of buying in the cheaper Holstein Friesian calves,” said Co Galway IFA livestock chairman Michael Flynn.

He said this caused a lot of the beef price problems of last year, after farmers reared 180,000 extra calves born in 2012.