With just a few months until farmers will be getting cattle back into sheds for winter housing, feeding costs are an expense that processors and retailers must recognise, an Irish farm organisation has said.
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) beef chair John Cleary has said processors and retailers must be willing to ensure the survival of beef finishers.
Cleary said: “As we head into the winter months, beef finishers are once again facing the daunting task of feeding cattle in sheds at enormous expense, with no guarantee of a return on their investment.
“This significant risk needs to be recognised by processors and retailers, who must now step up and do more for their suppliers.
“These farmers put their financial well-being on the line year after year to ensure a continuous supply of quality product, and they must be supported,” Cleary said.
Production and feeding costs
The ICSA beef chair explained that industry experts “carefully analyse production costs and set a farm gate price that winter finishers need to achieve to break even,” which is the “per kilo price below which this type of beef production becomes unsustainable”.
Cleary said that “processors and retailers fail to recognise this reality” and that “these target prices do not materialise, leaving beef finishers in an increasingly precarious position.
“Despite the uncertainty and financial risks, many in the sector continue to purchase and finish cattle, hoping for better returns than in previous years.
Cleary said that this winter presents a particularly challenging landscape where “input costs remain stubbornly high” and current store prices “will not yield a worthwhile margin against prevailing factory prices”.
He added that European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) markets are “currently strong” and that with a high demand for beef from these areas, processors have “lucrative weekly contracts to fulfil”.
“However, without a fundamental shift in mindset and additional support, there will be fewer and fewer winter finishers remaining in business,” the ICSA beef chair said.
The ICSA suckler chair Jimmy Cosgrave has called for a “revamped” Beef Welfare Scheme in 2025, which he said should include the following: Increased payments for meal feeding and vaccination; Payment for myostatin testing; and animal welfare protocols around weaning and dehorning.
“Most importantly, however, the cap limiting payments to 40 eligible animals must be removed, as it unfairly disadvantages commercial suckler farmers striving for long-term sustainability.
“Grants are available to dairy farmers with up to 120 cows which is a recognition that it takes more than 40 cattle to earn a full time living and perfectly illustrates the need for this cap to be reconsidered,” Cosgrave said.