Letter to the editor: 'We need a floor price, no 30-month rule and [mature] grass-fed beef'

Beef processors have a legal right to import meat from other EU countries [provided certain regulations are adhered to].

But Irish farmers, who double up as consumers, are asking the obvious question: Why would an Irish meat processor import beef when our supply of beef in Ireland is increasing? The number of calf birth registrations in Ireland is growing annually – not surprising considering the drive for dairy expansion.

But questions must be asked as to why the price of beef – per kilo – is where it’s at. The explanation that we sometimes hear – reduced market accessibility – does not add up economically.

We also hear some say that demand is down. That seems odd, when retail demand for beef at home in Ireland is up. It also appears to be up significantly in the UK – our leading export market. In other words, the argument that there is less demand for Irish beef does not stack up.

In any case, we – as primary producers – need a floor under the price. Such a floor price would cover all costs and provide some measure of profit; it’s simple mathematics.

Any farmer that analyses his or her business with a pen and paper on the kitchen table knows the APS [Aids to Private Storage] is not the answer – for viability at farm level. We’ve been there and done that.

APS offers a lifeline to processors, but not the primary producer. What is required now is full co-operation between retailers, processors and farmers. That means co-operation to save the supply chain and an understanding that farmer viability begins with payment for their work and their produce.

‘Room for co-operation’

Co-operation is needed to save our country from economic instability which, by and large, is on the horizon if all players in the food-supply chain do not enter into negotiations and discussions. The Beef Taskforce gives us that room for co-operation.

Minister Creed should visualise where we will all be if the supply chain were to collapse – under his watch. If this were to occur, Ireland would scarcely recover from the recession; nor would Ireland’s farmers get the recognition that they so rightly deserve. Other nations have warmly afforded recognition to their farmers.

There is both a corporate and a social responsibility on processors and retailers to deliver…and to come through for those that produce – those at the beginning of the supply chain. Consumers would support this, as has been borne out by surveys including those carried out last summer.

It is now that this must happen; farmers are needed to deliver the life-blood and relief for a wider economic recovery. But, with farmers at the end of their tether, many of the younger generation will simply choose not to get involved in beef production. They’ve seen the disrespect shown to farmers. Farmers provide much of the foundation not just for our exports but our very capacity to export.

The Beef Taskforce must reconvene; it must include meat processors and retailers.

The ’30-month’ upper age limit for steers and heifers – as a retail specification – needs to be removed. It has no rational place in the supply chain. Mature, grass-fed and grass-finished beef not only has a lesser carbon footprint but offers better health benefits. Is Bord Bia actually marketing this product – mature, grass-fed beef? It’s a ‘superfood’.

At the last sitting of the Beef TaskForce, retailers outlined that they were fully supportive of Irish farmers…and that beef sold in Irish stores is 100% Irish.

‘Limit of 36 months…’

Due to increased demand for beef, both here and in the UK, retailers should explore the sale of cuts with an upper age limit of 36 months – if only for a trial period, particularly where supply shortages are evident.

Some retailers say that they have conducted research that backs up the assertion that customers want mature, grass-fed beef. That makes sense; many consumers want to buy ‘healthy’ produce. Some of the top chefs say that mature, grass-fed beef is more tender than its grain-fed equivalent.

I would argue that grass-fed produce adds to our bodies, while grain-fed produce takes from our bodies. In the US, some animals are being taken out of grain-fed systems and placed on grass for finishing – why? I believe that it’s to develop the properties needed in beef to boost our immune systems.

It’s a myth that red meat is bad for you; I would say that the opposite is the case – particularly when it comes to mature, grass-fed produce.

Ireland has the raw materials to produce grass and grass-fed produce. But ‘Origin Green’ is misleading; some of the inputs that are fed to beef animals in Ireland – to meet an arbitrary target age – originate in South America and other such places.

Beef producers and, indeed, consumers would welcome a move to mature, grass-fed beef, as we nourish the nation in the middle of a pandemic.

We must eliminate the ’30-month’ age clause. It’s just a ‘sell-by’ date and it punishes the animal, the farmer and the consumer. We deserve better and safer produce.

From Enda Fingleton, beef farmer, Co. Laois