Welcome to Teagasc Virtual Beef Week 2020 – ‘Building a Sustainable Irish Beef Sector’.

You are all very welcome to join us online from Monday 6 to Friday 10 July. As you know, we had planned to have an open day at Teagasc Grange on 7 July, but this had to be cancelled due to COVID-19. Instead, we are meeting online to experience a wide range of live and pre-recorded webinars and videos.

The theme of the event will be ‘Building a Sustainable Beef Sector’. Teagasc is partnering with the Irish Farmers Journal to deliver some of the online events. Each day, there will be a BeefTalk webinar at 12 midday, hosted by the Irish Farmers Journal. In addition, Live@Grange will be streamed at 7pm. There will also be a continuing stream of content through Teagasc social media platforms and the Teagasc website. Tune in at www.teagasc.ie/virtualbeefweek.

The beef sector remains one of the most important contributors to the national economy in Ireland. It supports in excess of 70,000 beef farmers with an export value of approximately €2.5bn. It also provides approximately 10,000 jobs across processing, distribution and transport in predominantly rural areas.

Its strength lies in its pasture-based production system

The level of domestic spend has a huge multiplier effect on the overall economy and is a key part of the sector’s importance to regional development. Its strength lies in its pasture-based production system, underpinning its strong sustainability credentials and is well placed to meet the increased demand for beef.

However, there are significant challenges facing the sector, including Brexit, CAP reform, climate change and the growth of non-meat alternatives.

Market opportunities

Despite this, there are new market opportunities emerging, with increasing protein demand arising particularly throughout Asia and the US. The focus of Teagasc’s Virtual Beef Week will be to demonstrate best practice and communicate the latest research results relevant to beef farmers.

On Monday, we will be focusing on suckler beef production, covering the performance and the genetics of the Derrypatrick suckler herd, animal breeding and parasitology.

On Tuesday, the attention will switch to dairy-calf-to-beef, outlining what has been happening with the new study on this topic in Grange and also discussing the animal health issues associated with rearing calves.

Sustainability

Wednesday will be all about environmental sustainability and what steps farmers can take to reduce the environmental footprint of their cattle enterprises. The latest Teagasc research on reducing greenhouse gases, improving water quality, enhancing biodiversity and protecting our soils will also be covered.

All the focus on Thursday 9 July will be on grassland and nutrition for beef production, showcasing how to grow and utilise more grass in the production of beef animals.

Friday will all be about the challenges facing cattle producers in Ireland

It will include commercial farms that are practicing good grazing management, detailing how this is improving their animal performance and ultimately the financial performance of their beef enterprises.

Friday will all be about the challenges facing cattle producers in Ireland. In the morning, the latest suckler and dairy-calf-to-beef production blueprints for the sector will be outlined. In the evening, a forum will bring together industry experts to discuss possible solutions to address the economic, environmental and social challenges facing the sector.

I would like to thank all my Teagasc colleagues who have worked hard to ensure that this Virtual Beef Week is a success

This will include IFA president Tim Cullinan, European Commission vice-president Mairead McGuinness MEP, director of Teagasc Professor Gerry Boyle, and Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine Barry Cowen. The panel will be moderated by professor of agri-food economics at UCC Thia Hennessy.

I would like to thank all my Teagasc colleagues who have worked hard to ensure that this Virtual Beef Week is a success. I would also like to thank all the other organisations who partnered with us to participate in this event. I would like to acknowledge the support of FBD Trust for Teagasc Virtual Beef Week 2020.