Certified Irish Angus has announced a new off-season bonus which will be made available to its members this spring.

The producer group will pay a bonus of 30c/kg for animals slaughtered between 14 March and 16 May 2022. The animals must be pre-booked before 28 February 2022.

This is an increase of 10c/kg from the 20c/kg bonus paid for the same period in 2021. This off-season bonus will be paid in addition to the in-spec quality assurance bonus which ranges from 12c to 20c/kg per animal.

That means an R= Aberdeen Angus bullock that is under 30 months and meets all other specifications will attract a bonus of 50c/kg on top of base price when both bonuses are added together.

'Substantial bonus'

Certified Irish Angus general manager Charles Smith said: “We are delighted to announce details of this substantial bonus which is on offer to our members, allowing them to make plans for spring 2022.

"The bonus will provide a real opportunity for members, helping them to offset the additional costs of feed and fertiliser and enable them to plan their spring beef production with additional certainty.”

Breed improvement

The group recently embarked on a breed improvement programme with the aim of improving the genetics that its 10,000 members use on their farms.

This involved the purchase of a young bull (Drumcrow Tribesman), in partnership with Dovea Genetics, from the McKiernan family at the Irish Angus Cattle Society elite sale in Carrick-on-Shannon in December.

This bull will be made available through AI to all its members, with the aim of improving the quality of the animals they produce.

Certified Irish Angus also launched a new online portal for members last year, which allows them to book their Angus cattle for slaughter online.

Through the development of a unique system with the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), members who have given the ICBF data release can also have access to a full listing of animals within their herd.

If they also have ICBF Herd Plus, they will be provided with details of the terminal index of each animal as they make the booking.