Why can’t beef business run as smoothly as dairy industry?

There’s a new beef crisis every few months...

There will be no let-up in pressure on the Government to get tough with beef processors, after the latest EU figures show prices for beef cattle here in mid- March were 12% behind the price in Northern Ireland , and more than 15% behind the price in Britain. File Picture.  

Beef processors got a telling-off from Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue at the Beef Taskforce meeting in March, about the manner in which they informed farmers about a February price cut, and about changes to breed bonuses and weight limits.

With the minister always at pains to explain that prices for beef are a commercial matter which he or his Department has no role in determining, that was probably as stiff as he can get with processors, unless his temper gets the better of him.