The Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine is set to hear from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) later this morning, Wednesday, December 13.
The main focus of the meeting will be on the recent re-classification of the Euro-Star beef breeding index.
The meeting comes as farmers participating in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) are set to receive letters this week outlining the SCEP eligibility status of the cows in their herds.
The new beef breeding indexes came into effect on November 28, and there has been some level of frustration regarding the changes from both pedigree and commercial breeders alike.
At least three breed societies have issued statements expressing their disapproval of the index changes.
Limousin
The Irish Limousin Cattle Society has said it currently does “not have confidence in the updated run of indexes”.
The society has said the changes are “having a detrimental impact on the breed and our breeders”.
The society also said it is liaising with Teagasc, ICBF and the Department of Agriculture “to address breeder concerns and remedy the issues with the new indexes”.
The society called on all Limousin breeders to “lobby their local politicians” in advance of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee meeting with the ICBF.
Belgian Blue
The Irish Belgian Blue Cattle Society also has expressed its disapproval of the index changes.
In a post on Facebook, the society said: “We, the council of the Irish Belgian Blue Cattle Society are in agreement that ICBF criteria to evaluate our breed is not fit for purpose.
“All decision making regarding the future of our breeding stock is being stripped from us. We therefore have no faith in ICBF as it stands.”
Simmental
The Irish Simmental Cattle Society also took to Facebook to express its disapproval.
A post on the society’s Facebook page said: “The latest ICBF Eurostar Evaluation Changes (In which ICBF has greatly devalued animals) is causing enormous anxiety and stress among suckler farmers and pedigree breeders.
“Having your herd devalued is one thing but worrying about your farm viability is another more stressful aspect.”
The society said: “It is clear that the new evaluation model is a broken model, and a broken model that must be replaced.
“The Simmental society [is] asking that the evaluation model and indexes that were in place prior to November 28 be reinstated until proper testing and auditing is carried out on future changes.”
The Simmental society also asked farmers to contact their local TDs and senators “to highlight the impact these changes are having both on herd value and in terms of SCEP qualification”.
The Simmental society statement said: “Would the owners of a five-star hotel accept a reduction to a two-star overnight just because someone in hotel classification suddenly decided to re-evaluate them with no justification to do so?”
ICBF defence
The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has said that he doesn’t agree with farmers “blindly selecting animals based on their star rating”.
Sean Coughlan was speaking to Agriland on the latest episode of the AgriFocus podcast where he detailed the recent changes to the Euro-Star beef breeding index.
Coughlan explained that the last major update of the index in terms of economic value, which has proven controversial with some farmers in the suckler sector, was carried out almost eight-years-ago.
You can listen to the full interview on the AgriFocus podcast by clicking here.