IFA president Tim Cullinan has said the inclusion of young bull beef under 16 months in Bord Bia’s grass-fed standard is the correct move.

The change means that steers, heifers, young bulls and cows are all now included in the programme.

Cullinan said: “The IFA could never agree to the exclusion of young bull beef from the grass-fed standard and insisted that this category of animal was treated along similar lines to all other types.

“Not all young bull beef systems will fit into the grass fed standard, but if farmers operate their system to meet the criteria, they will now be able to qualify.”

Listen to reason

The IFA president has said the agreement with Bord Bia was reached following consultation over recent weeks.

“I want to acknowledge the fact that Bord Bia has listened to reason on this matter and adopted a flexible approach in order that to maximise the proportion of beef that will qualify as grass fed.

“Bord Bia had originally intended this to be the basis for Protected Geographical Indicator (PGI) application. However, this needs far more discussion before it proceeds any further,” he said.

Changes

The change has meant that the first nine months of an animal’s life will now be deemed as grass-fed regardless of whether they were on quality assured or non-quality assured farms.

Young bulls will be treated the same as other animal categories with their qualification as grass fed being dependent on meeting the criteria of the standard concerning the proportion of grass in the diet and grazing days.

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