In the “hurly burly” of selling cattle to the factory, farmers can overlook getting payment right away, according to the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA).
The association’s Livestock chair, Des Morrison, said he is aware of many cases when disputes occurred because the payment received by the farmer was “delayed by days, and sometimes up to a week, after the date of delivery to the factory”.
“It’s messy and farmers are perfectly within their right to insist on payment ‘on the day’,” he said.
“We urge farmers to exercise that right and to have their money before leaving the factory.”
The number of cattle sold at marts in Ireland in 2022 increased significantly compared to 2021.
Over 1.8 million head (1,815,509) were sold at marts in 2022, an increase of 91,587 cattle on the number sold at marts in 2021.
Payment
The introduction of online bidding at mart sales following the outbreak of Covid-19 has had a significant part to play in the growth of numbers of cattle being traded at the mart.
The number of cattle traded privately has been decreasing since 2020.
Just over 1.41 million cattle were sold privately in 2022. This figure is down by almost 128,800 head on the 1.54 million cattle sold privately in 2021.
With increases in sales, Morrison said that in the blur of negotiating about grade, weight, fat score and breed bonuses, “all allied to the increasingly complex nature of factory kill sheets”, it was “hugely important” for farmers not to overlook the important question of payment date.
Last year, beef price peaked in late-May / early June and began to decline from there, before bottoming out at €4.50/kg on the grid in late-October and beginning to increase again in mid-November.
This year, prices have been in decline since mid-May and factory quotes are now back to early January levels.