As the beef industry returns to normal working arrangements around the country, all the talk has moved from bonuses to base prices. The final three protests in Liffey Meats, Ballinasloe; Liffey Meats, Ballyjamesduff; and ABP, Clones, were stood down on Sunday night after an agreement was reached between factory protesters and factory representatives.
As the beef industry returns to normal working arrangements around the country, all the talk has moved from bonuses to base prices.
The final three protests in Liffey Meats, Ballinasloe; Liffey Meats, Ballyjamesduff; and ABP, Clones, were stood down on Sunday night after an agreement was reached between factory protesters and factory representatives.
Liffey Meats deal
The deal agreed with Liffey Meats is believed to have a number of key points:
1 Liffey Meats will not discriminate against any farmers who took part in the protest and the farmer representatives from each protest site will talk with factory management to resolve any issues.
2 A guarantee has been given to maintain the base price at the moment up until 2 November 2019. It can rise in the meantime, but it won't fall below its current level. It stands at €3.50/kg for steers and €3.60/kg for heifers on the grid. Bulls under the age of 24 months are quoted as follows: O-grade €3.20/kg, R-grade €3.40/kg and U-grade €3.50/kg.
3 Farmers that supply Liffey Meats who inadvertently couldn't kill cattle due to the recent protests, whose livestock are now gone over 30 months of age, are advised to contact factory management in order to resolve the issue.
4 Liffey Meats has given a commitment to recognise the recent established producer organisation (PO) and to engage with it.
Other operations
Other factories have been very slow to quote for cattle on Monday and a number have yet to resume slaughtering.
It is understood that Dawn Meats in Slane processed a number of cattle over the weekend and that it resumed slaughtering in Grannagh on Monday morning, albeit at a lower than usual capacity.
ABP hasn’t opened any factories on Monday, but it is expected that normal business will resume in all ABP locations on Tuesday.
It is also understood that Liffey Meats will resume slaughtering on Tuesday in Ballyjamesduff and Ballinasloe.
Staff issues
Some factories have reported issues around staff and getting them back to work and also some logistical issues around the resumption of slaughtering.
In a statement issued to the Irish Farmers Journal, MII said: “The provisions of the Irish beef sector agreement 15 September 2019 will now commence implementation. The lifting of protests also means that beef processors have withdrawn all legal proceedings against farm organisations and/or individual farmers.”
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