The Beef Plan Movement has compiled a list of 13 issues affecting the wider beef and sheep-meat industry that it is requesting Meat Industry Ireland (MII) to review.

The list has been compiled by representatives from the group who have said a copy of it has been sent to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, as well as representatives from MII.

The list contains 13 issues that the group believes need to be reviewed as well as a description of how each one is impacting on Irish cattle and sheep farmers. It also contains a policy change request that the group is recommending for each issue.

The list of issues is as follows:

The claimed issues identified by the group are as follows:
  • “The use of an upper age limit to influence the price offered for steers and heifers;
  • “The use of an upper age limit to influence the price offered for young bulls;
  • “The use of an upper limit of herd-to-herd movements to influence the price offered;
  • “70 days single farm residency required for recognition as a Bord Bia quality-assured animal;
  • “Carcass weights threshold for cattle and sheep changed without reasonable notice period;
  • “Excessive trim being taken from carcass (cattle and sheep);
  • “Excessive trim influencing carcass grade assigned by mechanical grading machines;
  • “No independent manual grade appeals process;
  • “QPS grid price differentiation between grades;
  • “All terms of business not clearly provided by a processor;
  • “Agents working for more than one processor;
  • “Insurance paid by farmers for animals delivered to processors;
  • “EID sheep tags.”

The move comes as the group is escalating its protests outside the gates of meat processing factories across the country.

Earlier today, Wednesday, August 7, the movement issued a response to MII amid the ongoing farmer protests outside meat factories – highlighting that its beef farmer members are “not obliged” to sell their cattle and have “no contractual requirements” to do so.

The farmer organisation added that any disruption caused to MII members by ongoing demonstrations is something that processors “will have to manage in the running of their businesses”.