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There will only be limited numbers of beef cattle housed at AFBI’s main research site at Hillsborough this winter as the main facilities are deemed no longer fit-for-purpose, and can no longer be used for research work, the Irish Farmers Journal understands.
A review is currently ongoing within the organisation to see what cattle are to be retained, with some dairy beef crosses already sold in local marts.
The beef enterprise at AFBI includes a 100-cow suckler herd, and also finishes beef crosses from the AFBI dairy herd. There is the option to keep some sucklers at AFBI Loughgall, and potentially also transfer some to CAFRE.
A proposal to build new facilities at Hillsborough has been on the table for a number of years
Looking to the future, both CAFRE and AFBI have been working on a new model to deliver research, education and advice to the NI beef industry.
However, it is well known that the main beef unit at Hillsborough is not up to scratch, with low roofs and unsuitable pens making it impossible to deliver efficient and cost-effective research work.
A proposal to build new facilities at Hillsborough has been on the table for a number of years, and it is understood that it is now in the final stages, having been approved by the Department of Finance, and awaiting sign off by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots.
As part of the multi-million-pound plan all sucklers across both AFBI and CAFRE would be retained at Greenmount, and all young beef animals across both herds would go to AFBI Hillsborough for finishing.
In the meantime, AFBI sources maintain that beef research work will continue, whether it is using facilities at AFBI Loughgall or continuing existing work done in conjunction with CAFRE.
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