Manufacturing beef and retail beef must be differentiated from each other in order for the suckler industry to survive, Hugh Doyle, vice-chair of the Beef Plan Movement told farmers at Elphin Mart last Thursday.
“The only way we are going to survive into the future is, we have got to split manufacturing beef and retail beef. You can’t have the two together, because when you have the two together, one is bringing the other down. Retail beef is your R3 and your U3 steer out eating grass,” he said.
“How are we going to split the two? We’re going to have to have a brand and we’re going to have to go GM-free,” Doyle said. “It costs about €20 to €25 extra, per tonne, to buy GM-free feed, because that’s what the market wants.
“You have to think of housewife number one, you have to think of animal welfare, the environment … all these things will put us up on a bar that’s so high that no one else can reach. It’s got to be non-intensive, it’s got to be grass-fed, that is what the market wants,” he said.
The idea of a suckler beef brand was echoed by Elphin Mart manager Gerry Connellan, who said that farmers “need a premium price for suckler cow beef from the suckling herd”.
Unified brand
Roscommon-Galway TD Denis Naughten said suckler beef needed to be marketed under “a single unified brand” like Kerrygold is.
“We need an equivalent brand for suckler-based grass-fed beef out of this country. Until we have that single brand we are going to struggle and struggle to get a decent price for the product.”
Doyle told farmers that they needed to take back control of their industry.
“All the vested interests, be it the ICBF, Bord Bia, Department of Agriculture, they don’t give two damns about you. You’ve got to take control of your industry again,” he said.
Aidan Doorley, Rooskey, Co Roscommon
“I think that farmers as a whole need a direction and I think we need an organisation to bring our concerns forward. I think that up to now we’ve had too many organisations which told us they had our best interests at heart. Our efforts have been divided in too many ways. The Beef Plan Movement is about the first time that the farmer is eventually having their say.”
David Creighton, Castlerea, Co Roscommon“There [are] rules and regulations there that are hindering beef price. We also have a situation where the suckler farmer hasn’t had a voice – no one really has fought their corner for a long, long time. People will disagree and say that’s not true. The Beef Plan Movement has clearly struck a chord with people out there who felt neglected.”
Read more
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Manufacturing beef and retail beef must be differentiated from each other in order for the suckler industry to survive, Hugh Doyle, vice-chair of the Beef Plan Movement told farmers at Elphin Mart last Thursday.
“The only way we are going to survive into the future is, we have got to split manufacturing beef and retail beef. You can’t have the two together, because when you have the two together, one is bringing the other down. Retail beef is your R3 and your U3 steer out eating grass,” he said.
“How are we going to split the two? We’re going to have to have a brand and we’re going to have to go GM-free,” Doyle said. “It costs about €20 to €25 extra, per tonne, to buy GM-free feed, because that’s what the market wants.
“You have to think of housewife number one, you have to think of animal welfare, the environment … all these things will put us up on a bar that’s so high that no one else can reach. It’s got to be non-intensive, it’s got to be grass-fed, that is what the market wants,” he said.
The idea of a suckler beef brand was echoed by Elphin Mart manager Gerry Connellan, who said that farmers “need a premium price for suckler cow beef from the suckling herd”.
Unified brand
Roscommon-Galway TD Denis Naughten said suckler beef needed to be marketed under “a single unified brand” like Kerrygold is.
“We need an equivalent brand for suckler-based grass-fed beef out of this country. Until we have that single brand we are going to struggle and struggle to get a decent price for the product.”
Doyle told farmers that they needed to take back control of their industry.
“All the vested interests, be it the ICBF, Bord Bia, Department of Agriculture, they don’t give two damns about you. You’ve got to take control of your industry again,” he said.
Aidan Doorley, Rooskey, Co Roscommon
“I think that farmers as a whole need a direction and I think we need an organisation to bring our concerns forward. I think that up to now we’ve had too many organisations which told us they had our best interests at heart. Our efforts have been divided in too many ways. The Beef Plan Movement is about the first time that the farmer is eventually having their say.”
David Creighton, Castlerea, Co Roscommon“There [are] rules and regulations there that are hindering beef price. We also have a situation where the suckler farmer hasn’t had a voice – no one really has fought their corner for a long, long time. People will disagree and say that’s not true. The Beef Plan Movement has clearly struck a chord with people out there who felt neglected.”
Read more
‘We can’t compete’ – suckler farmers react to tariffs in no-deal Brexit
Beef Plan Movement and factories clash on feedlots
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