Food Vision Beef Group Hasn’t Proposed Exit Scheme

IFA National Livestock Chair Brendan Golden has said that contrary to media reports today, the Food Vision Beef Group has not proposed a suckler cow exit scheme.

“The document referred to in the media report today is a Department of Agriculture document. It has not been discussed with or agreed by the IFA, or any other member of the Food Vision Group,” he said.

“Today’s media report is misleading. The Minister and the Department are trying to pass off their own proposals as coming from the Food Vision group,” he said.

“The group is due to meet next week to go through the proposed measures put forward by the Minister and the Department of Agriculture,” he noted.

“IFA’s focus on the Food Vision Beef and Sheep Group is on supporting a viable beef and suckler sector which is economically, environmentally and socially sustainable,” he said.

“The focus of this report must be to build a sustainable suckler and beef herd in the country and reverse the decline we have witnessed, due to the lack of meaningful Government support,” the National Livestock Chair added.

IFA’s initial reaction to the potential recommendations for the sector identity the two most substantive issues to be addressed.

These are the absence of any cost and production impact assessment including the carbon leakage impact of failing to appropriately support Irish suckler and beef farmers, and the level of new Government funding that is available to the suckler and beef sector to support the adoption of recommendations for the sector.