Independent investigation of the gap between average beef cattle prices in Ireland and the British mainland is on the way — but it will look only at Irish prices north of the border.

U-GRADES in the prime cattle kill in Northern Ireland have fallen from 20% in the five weeks before the introduction of mechanical grading last March to 12% in the five weeks after.

NORTHERN Ireland’s cattle farmers are reserving judgement on the beef industry’s plan to use imaging analysis (VIA) machines to classify cattle, and introduce a payment system similar to the south’s QPS, from January 17.

BEEF industry sources in Northern Ireland have expressed disquiet at imports of about 700 slaughter cattle per week from the South.