Signs are all too obvious for the downfall of cattle industry

CATTLE prices are in free fall and the mood of panic is beginning to grip Irish farmers.

Beef farmers have been dealing with the horrendous consequences of a price free fall, and now weanling producers are nervously wondering what will happen to the weanling trade this autumn.

The reason for the slump is that the EU is being flooded with South American imports, with EU approval. Worse still is the fact that the EU Commission seems willing to offer ongoing and limitless concessions on farm products to gain concessions of its own for goods and services into South America.