Special report by Claire Mc Cormack and Niall Claffey
2019 will be remembered as a tumultuous, divisive and watershed period for the Irish beef industry.
It has had it all: kill highs; price lows; a national protest campaign that brought the sector to its knees; farmer arrests; threats of jail; meat plant job losses; inspections; injunctions; strikes; BEEP; BEAM; Beef Plan Movement; three rounds of talks; and a funeral – all under the dark clouds of a looming Brexit.
While we will revisit all of the year’s major talking points, we will also analyse the significant drop in farm-gate beef prices – the driving force behind months of picket lines outside the country’s meat factories.
We will examine price trends, the mart trade, monthly slaughterings and total live cattle exports – mapping out all volumes and destinations.
All data featured in this series has been sourced from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Bord Bia; the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF); the European Commission; and AgriLand‘s own database.
Stay tuned to AgriLand over the Christmas period…