IFA urges beef farmers to remain confident on price

IFA national livestock chairman Henry Burns is urging farmers to resist attempts by meat factories to erode confidence in the beef trade by threatening price and weight cuts.

Mr Burns has called on Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney to stand up to the factories and insist that they operate the quality pricing system properly without any weight cuts.

“Across the weekend, agents are cold calling on farmers looking for cattle and offering a base of €3.95/kg for steers and €4.05/kg for heifers,” said Mr Burns, who also criticised industry commentators who have talked down the beef trade.