The ABP-owned organic beef company Good Herdsmen has issued its pricing structure to organic beef farmers for the next 10 weeks.

The weekly base price has risen from €4.95 in week 46 (mid-November) to a guaranteed €5.30/kg for the first week of February 2022. Next week’s price is quoted at €5.10/kg.

No breed bonus or in-spec quality assurance bonus is paid on organic cattle.

This puts the organic premium on an Aberdeen Angus bullock killed next week at 45c/kg or €144/head.

The base price is paid on R-, R= and R+ grading cattle at a fat score of between 2+ and 4+. U grading cattle get a bonus of between 16c/kg and 18c/kg depending on fat score, while O grading cattle receive a penalty of 18c/kg. The bespoke grid-based payment is for cattle aged between 13 and 35 months.

Cattle presented for slaughter must have been resident on a quality-assured farm for 90 days, with a residency period of at least 30 days on the final farm. They must also have a maximum of four farm residencies.

The carcase weight required is between 250kg and 450kg. Penalties for carcase weights outside of this range from 20c/kg for weights of 220-250kg to 40c/kg for weights of 490-520kg.

Most of Ireland’s organic beef produce ends up in high-end retail chains across Europe and restaurants, with some also going into organic baby food.