Beef processors have been called on to commit to “a base price backstop for the remainder of the year”.
In a statement issued yesterday evening, Wednesday, September 18, candidates in the upcoming Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) presidential elections, Tim Cullinan, called on factories “to demonstrate their good faith to farmers to deliver on the recent agreements”.
Speaking at ‘Ploughing 2019’ yesterday, Cullinan said: “A price of €3.75/kg for heifers and €3.65/kg for steers would reduce the losses beef farmers are facing.
This would ensure that the quality bonuses agreed in the recent negotiations would not be eroded by cutting the base price.
Continuing, Cullinan said: “If ABP, Kepak and Dawn Meats were prepared to give this commitment, he would personally undertake to meet protesters at the factory gates to find acceptance and, in return, lift the pickets.”
Levy review
Separately, in a panel discussion with AgriLand during our live coverage of the 2019 National Ploughing Championships, Cullinan gave a commitment to review the farmer levy.
He said: “I will have a review of how the association is funded, and we will have a look at the levy system.”
However, Cullinan was keen to stress that a more important issue was how the IFA’s money was going out.
“If we run a campaign, the funds will always have to be there to do that,” Cullinan argued.