Beef farmers castigated the ICBF on governance, BDGP, star ratings and data protection at the Beef Summit in Ballinasloe. Criticism of the board structure and BDGP were voiced succinctly by one farmer from the floor. “What is the minister going to do about the corporate governance of ICBF?
“There are 17 beef breeds in the country and only one represented on the board of [ICBF]. The Newford herd was set up with high index cows. It’s losing €400/cow.”
The reliability of the €uro-Star index in returning a profit was also questioned by farmer Ger Dineen, who told the crowd his suckler herd was ranked in the top 5% in the country but he still struggled to make a living, with beef prices way below his €5/kg cost of production.
Some 24,500 farmers are in BDGP and in response, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed acknowledged that “it is now time to look at the BDGP. Let’s not abandon the journey because a lot of progress has been made. Let’s iron it out.
“The ICBF is not a State agency, it is a farmers’ co-op. It is farmer representatives on the board; the AI stations and farm organisations,” he said, adding that farmers should not adopt a “slash and burn” approach.
Defending the ICBF, its technical director Andrew Cromie reiterated the minister’s comments and said ICBF was farmer-owned.
Read more
Suckler farmers leave €38m behind in BDGP
Maps: how many exited BDGP in your county?
Opinion: debate has to be based on facts
Beef Summit a line in the sand for the sector
Beef farmers castigated the ICBF on governance, BDGP, star ratings and data protection at the Beef Summit in Ballinasloe. Criticism of the board structure and BDGP were voiced succinctly by one farmer from the floor. “What is the minister going to do about the corporate governance of ICBF?
“There are 17 beef breeds in the country and only one represented on the board of [ICBF]. The Newford herd was set up with high index cows. It’s losing €400/cow.”
The reliability of the €uro-Star index in returning a profit was also questioned by farmer Ger Dineen, who told the crowd his suckler herd was ranked in the top 5% in the country but he still struggled to make a living, with beef prices way below his €5/kg cost of production.
Some 24,500 farmers are in BDGP and in response, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed acknowledged that “it is now time to look at the BDGP. Let’s not abandon the journey because a lot of progress has been made. Let’s iron it out.
“The ICBF is not a State agency, it is a farmers’ co-op. It is farmer representatives on the board; the AI stations and farm organisations,” he said, adding that farmers should not adopt a “slash and burn” approach.
Defending the ICBF, its technical director Andrew Cromie reiterated the minister’s comments and said ICBF was farmer-owned.
Read more
Suckler farmers leave €38m behind in BDGP
Maps: how many exited BDGP in your county?
Opinion: debate has to be based on facts
Beef Summit a line in the sand for the sector
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