All farm organisations have been called upon to support a new beef plan – titled ‘Beef Plan 2018-2025’ – which was recently unveiled by a group of beef farmers from Co. Meath.
The president of the Irish Charolais Cattle Society, Kevin Maguire, confirmed that the society and its members fully back the new initiative.
Also Read: Breed societies row in behind new Beef Plan GroupHe urged all farm organisations to join together in support of the plan.
Speaking to AgriLand, he said: “We believe that this plan gives all farm organisations the opportunity to unite together for the first time and finally deliver real results for beef farmers.
“I urge all farm organisations to give their full support to Eamon Corley and his team in order for this plan to be implemented. I want to thank Eamon and his team for producing this comprehensive document.
They deserve great credit for the time and effort put into this. The beef farmers of Ireland should be very proud to have a group like this representing them.
Meanwhile, Maguire stated that the €40 payment/weanling under the new Beef Environmental Efficiency Pilot (BEEP) scheme has to be welcomed.
A total of €20 million was allocated to the pilot scheme as part of Budget 2019.
Also Read: ‘Early summer’ target and 500,000 head limit for new €40/head beef schemeThe full details of the scheme and its requirements have yet to be officially announced, but it is understood that both the cow and its weanling will have to be weighed.
It is hoped that the scheme – which will have a 500,000 head limit – will be up and running by early summer next year.
He expressed concerns that the “hassle and cost of weighing the cattle” may outweigh the value of the payments available under the scheme.
On a personal level, Maguire told AgriLand that he would have preferred to see the €20 million allocated to the scheme used for “marketing quality, healthy beef from the suckler herd” as he fears the €40/head payments won’t make much difference at farm level.