IFA: Raise suckler supports

Direct support for the suckler herd should be increased to €200 per cow, according to the Irish Farmers Association.

It is also seeking a strong live cattle export trade to support the suckler herd which it describes as the backbone of Ireland’s €2.3bn beef and livestock sector.

IFA president Joe Healy, speaking at a meeting in Balla Mart in Co Mayo, said the €52m Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) was a positive start.