The application for a PGI for Irish Grass Fed Beef has finally got the go-ahead after a number of late night meetings between farm organisations and the Department of Agriculture this week.
These meetings resulted in a number of changes being made to the original application.
A number of farm organisations had expressed concern around a number of aspects of the scheme, including the fact that it included beef from the dairy herd, the exclusion of bulls and the lack of farmer involvement in the development and governance of the brand.
This resulted in a number of clarifications and changes which included:
The removal of references to travel times and flexibilities on the 220 days at grass.Assessments for the meat and fat colour will only be carried out as part of the standard Bord Bia audit at factories and will not affect the price paid to farmers for their grass-fed product.The setting up of oversight groups with majority farmer members to oversee the implementation and working of the PGI status.A submission to the European Commission to include young bulls, if they meet the grass-fed criteria.Bord Bia’s application for funding the EU Commision to promote a suckler brand of beef in Belgium, Italy, Germany and Switzerland failed earlier this year however Bord Bia have committed €6 million in funding to promote a suckler beef brand over the next three years in the countries listed above.
The Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue also acknowledged the importance of schemes such as BEEP-S and BDGP for suckler farmers and expresses a desire that these schemes would continue to be funded going forward.
It's understood that the application will be finalised within the next week and submitted to the European Commission which, when assessed, will go through a consultation process. It will be spring 2021 before farmers will know if the application is successful or not
Commenting on the outcome, IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said: “This is a good outcome.
“The PGI will give us a chance to promote the world-renowned qualities of Irish beef while working on a brand for beef from suckler farms that promotes the quality, environmental and socio-economic benefits of this production system.”
IFA president Tm Cullinan said: “It is clear that something substantial needs to be done to promote suckler beef as a specialised product. In addition to the funding of €6m which was agreed today, the importance of building on the existing schemes to support suckler production and underpin the development of the brand was acknowledged by the minister and the taskforce.”
Read more
Grass-fed beef: what does a PGI mean?
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The application for a PGI for Irish Grass Fed Beef has finally got the go-ahead after a number of late night meetings between farm organisations and the Department of Agriculture this week.
These meetings resulted in a number of changes being made to the original application.
A number of farm organisations had expressed concern around a number of aspects of the scheme, including the fact that it included beef from the dairy herd, the exclusion of bulls and the lack of farmer involvement in the development and governance of the brand.
This resulted in a number of clarifications and changes which included:
The removal of references to travel times and flexibilities on the 220 days at grass.Assessments for the meat and fat colour will only be carried out as part of the standard Bord Bia audit at factories and will not affect the price paid to farmers for their grass-fed product.The setting up of oversight groups with majority farmer members to oversee the implementation and working of the PGI status.A submission to the European Commission to include young bulls, if they meet the grass-fed criteria.Bord Bia’s application for funding the EU Commision to promote a suckler brand of beef in Belgium, Italy, Germany and Switzerland failed earlier this year however Bord Bia have committed €6 million in funding to promote a suckler beef brand over the next three years in the countries listed above.
The Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue also acknowledged the importance of schemes such as BEEP-S and BDGP for suckler farmers and expresses a desire that these schemes would continue to be funded going forward.
It's understood that the application will be finalised within the next week and submitted to the European Commission which, when assessed, will go through a consultation process. It will be spring 2021 before farmers will know if the application is successful or not
Commenting on the outcome, IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said: “This is a good outcome.
“The PGI will give us a chance to promote the world-renowned qualities of Irish beef while working on a brand for beef from suckler farms that promotes the quality, environmental and socio-economic benefits of this production system.”
IFA president Tm Cullinan said: “It is clear that something substantial needs to be done to promote suckler beef as a specialised product. In addition to the funding of €6m which was agreed today, the importance of building on the existing schemes to support suckler production and underpin the development of the brand was acknowledged by the minister and the taskforce.”
Read more
Grass-fed beef: what does a PGI mean?
Limousin sale postponed and moved online
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