There is “growing evidence” that slaughtering animals aged under 30 months has an environmental benefit, compared to older animals, a Grant Thornton report has claimed.
The report, which was commissioned by the Beef Market Taskforce and discussed by its members yesterday (Thursday, December 17), examined market and customer requirements relating to in-spec bonuses.
Where the 30-month rule is concerned, the report stated that there is evidence of “strong market demand” in food service, retail and third country markets for beef from cattle aged under 30 months at slaughter.
“There is a growing body of evidence that supports the claims that slaughtering under 30 months has environmental benefits associated with it,” the report claims.
It went on to say there is also strong market demand for beef to come from quality-assured farms, remarking that the Bord Bia Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS) is “held in high regard by many customers and a key requirement of current trade”.
Other rules
The report said that there was more variance in customer demand for the ‘four-movements’ requirement.
Some customers of Irish beef held it as a requirement while, some did not. Apparently, a third group of customers stated that, while they have a “strong preference” for animals that have undergone four movements or less, they did not see a need for it to be specified as a requirement as their suppliers already provided animals that met the criteria anyway.
The requirement for animals to have spent a minimum period of residency on the last farm before slaughter also varied among customers. The report said it was not a consistent requirement but was required by some customers.
In third country markets (outside the EU), the report stated that the 30-month rule remained a key requirement, but the other two were “less consistently applied”.
‘Evolving market requirements’
The Grant Thornton report said that, outside of these rules and quality-assured farms, customers did not have any other requirements specific to animals, with any other requirements focusing on the processors and their facilities.
The report surmises that the in-spec bonus criteria, as it stands, is meeting market demand.
However, some costumers apparently noted “evolving market requirements”.
Examples of these possible requirements include enhanced quality assurance measures, and also a move towards beef from animals that have spent their whole lives on a single farm.
“There is a need to periodically review the criteria as market demands are likely to change over time,” the report concluded.