The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has criticised the reintroduction of grid-based beef pricing by processors, describing it as a “clear attempt to manipulate prices”.
The association said this move is to try to “flush out” beef numbers during the shortened working weeks until the May bank holiday.
ICSA beef chair John Cleary said agents are out in the marts paying as much as €9/kg for finished cattle.
“That tells you everything you need to know about how strong the market is and how much room there is to pay farmers properly,” he said.
“This is a calculated attempt to pull prices back in what is clearly a buoyant market. For the past five months or more, factories have been paying flat prices to secure stock from farmers because of the strong market demand that we know is out there.”
Grid
Beef grids haven’t been used in sales rings or in meat factories for the past six months, according to the ICSA.
Cleary added that this reintroduction shows that the grid is a “self-serving” pricing mechanism structured to benefit the factories.
“We have had over 20 years of a malfunctioning pricing mechanism that has consistently short-changed farmers. It’s time to change that.
“Farmers deserve a fair, straightforward system that reflects the real value of beef, not one that allows processors to shift the goalposts whenever it suits them. The time has come for all farmers to stand together and demand a more simplified and transparent pricing system.”
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Changes to beef grid needed – CCAC boss
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The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has criticised the reintroduction of grid-based beef pricing by processors, describing it as a “clear attempt to manipulate prices”.
The association said this move is to try to “flush out” beef numbers during the shortened working weeks until the May bank holiday.
ICSA beef chair John Cleary said agents are out in the marts paying as much as €9/kg for finished cattle.
“That tells you everything you need to know about how strong the market is and how much room there is to pay farmers properly,” he said.
“This is a calculated attempt to pull prices back in what is clearly a buoyant market. For the past five months or more, factories have been paying flat prices to secure stock from farmers because of the strong market demand that we know is out there.”
Grid
Beef grids haven’t been used in sales rings or in meat factories for the past six months, according to the ICSA.
Cleary added that this reintroduction shows that the grid is a “self-serving” pricing mechanism structured to benefit the factories.
“We have had over 20 years of a malfunctioning pricing mechanism that has consistently short-changed farmers. It’s time to change that.
“Farmers deserve a fair, straightforward system that reflects the real value of beef, not one that allows processors to shift the goalposts whenever it suits them. The time has come for all farmers to stand together and demand a more simplified and transparent pricing system.”
Read more
Call for factories to adjust bonus payments
Changes to beef grid needed – CCAC boss
Suckler farmers left in the dark
ICSA disagrees with Teagasc's beef grid analysis
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