DEAR EDITOR,

I would like to compliment Emmanuel O’Dea on his letter in last week’s Irish Farmers Journal. He summarised the beef stakeholders’ meeting very well. Emmanuel asked, “are we (suckler farmers) being managed out of existence?”

At the last meeting, I learned for the first time that older cows were being disadvantaged by not being included in the index analysis. Why? Surely an older cow has earned her stars? She wouldn’t be still in the herd unless she had a calf every year, reared her calf and went back in-calf the following year. I find older cows easier to manage, more docile and more economical. In my case, young heifers need to be bought in and bred to an easy-calving bull, as our Charolais stock bull would be too strong for them. My young heifers are held in a separate pen, given the better silage and get a shake of rolled oats before calving. After calving, they are given a few nuts for the first week. The same applies in their first winter as young cows.

Thus, she costs a lot more than the older cow who just gets on with her job without any fuss. So why are my older cows getting lower stars and the younger ones have bright, shining five stars? Are we being managed out of existence and if we are, why?