Relentless Pressure on Beef Price Must Stop – IFA

IFA Livestock Chairman Brendan Golden said the relentless pressure on prices that factories have exerted over the last number of weeks is unacceptable and must stop.

He said this shortsighted approach by factories is severely undermining confidence in beef farmers who have made huge investments in finishing cattle.

“The failure of the market and of factories and Bord Bia to return beef prices to farmers that reflect production costs must be addressed,” he said.

Brendan Golden said on the one hand we cannot have more and more demands off beef farmers in relation to climate targets while the very same policy makers continue to pursue cheap food policies and undermine our markets in trade deals such as Mercosur that promotes production in regions with no environmental standards when we see the destruction of rain forests that is taking place.

He said the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has a key role to play in this area to protect and support the incomes of beef farmers.

“Beef farmers cannot continue to make investments in beef production at the levels now required with input costs, without a guarantee on return,” he said.

Brendan Golden said farmers with finished cattle to sell now have the most expensive cattle of the year and to be faced with delays in slaughter and falling prices is not acceptable.

Factories can and must do more for these farmers.