The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) has called on beef factories to explain why prices are around €1.10/kg behind this time last year.

The price drop comes as the national cattle kill is more than 5.5%, or over 58,000 head, behind last year's levels.

ICSA Beef chair Sean Sherman said that "this is a very significant drop in the value of cattle for farmers".

"One of our members killed a load of steers this week with an average carcass weight of 452kg.

"With a €1.10/kg hit compared with this time last year, that worked out at approximately €497 per animal, or around €20,000 across the load.

"That really brings home the scale of what is happening at farm level," he said.

Beef prices

Sherman said that farmers cannot be expected to absorb a drop of almost €500 per animal without asking serious questions about why the price has fallen so far behind last year and where the money is going.

"On top of this, farmers are still trying to grapple with the high costs for feed, fuel and fertiliser, and the drought is only adding to that pressure.

"Farmers are having to spend more to keep their cattle fed and their businesses going at a time when the price being paid for those cattle is going backwards. That cannot go on.

"We have asked the factories time and time again to explain their reasons for slashing prices. We are still asking the same questions because farmers are not getting satisfactory answers.

"If cattle numbers are down by more than 58,000 head and prices are €1.10/kg behind last year, we need to know why," he said.

Bord Bia

The ICSA Beef chair said there are also questions for Bord Bia.

"We have invested heavily in building the reputation of Irish beef, yet the farmer is getting substantially less than this time last year.

"We have to question whether enough is being done to ensure the value of the Irish beef brand is reflected in the price being paid to farmers," he said.