The Bord Bia “grass-fed” beef standard, brand and associated Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) application has exposed a few familiar fault lines. What exactly are we to make of it all?

Firstly, anything that can give farmers a better return in the marketplace is much needed and welcome.

Although at this point, no one is prepared to put their neck on the line and give a guarantee that a PGI or a grass-fed standard will see farmers getting higher prices.

Bord Bia says it consulted widely on the development of the grass-fed standard, but the IFA’s initial reaction was one of surprise and opposition. Its position is that bulls that fulfil all the criteria have as much right to the status as other cattle.

Bord Bia now indicates that bulls meeting the 90% grass/grass forage standard will be considered, although the submission to Brussels for a grass-fed beef standardstatus does not yet state this.

That would help put out the fire with the IFA, but other fires remain.

No one is prepared to put their neck on the line and give a guarantee that a PGI or a grass-fed standard will see farmers getting higher prices

There appears to be a rift in the relationship between Bord Bia and Teagasc. Last week, Teagasc confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that it was involved in the modelling around the grass-fed standard for both beef and dairy.

It appears to have caused Professor Gerry Boyle some headaches, having recently indicated to the Teagasc Authority that Teagasc had no involvement.

Although now desperate to backtrack on any involvement, Teagasc is clearly identified within the Bord Bia submission as one of the key stakeholders that were consulted in the development of the standard.

The phrase “success has many fathers, failure is an orphan” comes to mind.

Only a few weeks remain to prevent a crash out, with the terrible implications for the beef sector in particular

Meanwhile, we need to move if we are to make progress. The clock is ticking on two fronts. Brexit is coming and Phil Hogan may be going. Only a few weeks remain to prevent a crash out, with the terrible implications for the beef sector in particular.

We do have a senior voice around the European Commission table, but that would change if Phil Hogan lands the WTO director general job. So while it is important we get the scale and nature of any PGI designation for Irish beef right, we are working on a very tight timeframe.

And while no-one wants ownership of this right now, it may be that farmers should be trying to take ownership of this brand. Heaven knows they need to be the primary beneficiaries of any price rise it might give.