The payment of an in-spec bonus on eligible cattle under 30-months of age and the in-spec bonus currently being paid for eligible cattle between 30 and 36-months of age is set to be reviewed, Meat Industry Ireland (MII) has confirmed.
Agriland posed two specific questions to MII director Dale Crammon and other panellists from the meat industry at the launch of the Irish Beef Sector Sustainability Report and Roadmap to 2030 today (Thursday, February 9).
Firstly, the panel was asked – how will farmers be incentivised to reduce cattle slaughter age to 24 months? And secondly – will there be changes to the current Quality Price System (QPS) payment scheme?
Responding to the question, Crammond said: “MII is going to look at this in collaboration with our members.”
He added that changes to the QPS payment scheme “certainly may have to be part of the conversation”.
Eligible heifers and steers under-30-months of age currently receive a 20c/kg price bonus and eligible heifers and steers between 30-36-months of age receive an 8c/kg bonus as part of the QPS payment system.
The MII director mentioned “the idea of paying bonuses on cattle over-30-months of age”, adding that MII members will have to ask “how consistent is that with the direction of travel we want to go in”?
He specified that no decision has been taken yet, but confirmed “it’s certainly something that we have to look at over the coming months”.
The MII beef sustainability charter, which is expected to be published in the first half of this year, will set out the measures that individual processors can implement in an effort to help reduce emissions from the beef production sector.
Also responding to the question on incentivising a younger slaughter age for cattle, ABP Food Group’s managing director for Ireland and Poland, Kevin Cahill said: “We’ve always paid bonuses based on criteria the market required.”
He agreed with the MII director’s remarks and said “it will be part of the conversation that will continue going forward”.
Young bulls
Another question Agriland put to the panel related to whether or not bull beef production would be encouraged in an effort to reduce the slaughter age of male cattle in Ireland.
Responding to this, Philip Tallon of Dawn Meats confirmed the focus for male cattle will remain firmly on steer beef production.
He said: “There’s very little market for young bull beef in Europe. The majority of our male cattle are finished as steer beef and that’s our unique selling point in Europe.”
He added that if Ireland moved to finishing its male cattle primarily as bulls, “we will lose that unique selling point and have to compete against the other EU bull beef”.
He said that Dawn Meats is working with Teagasc and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) to improve cattle genetics in an effort to reduce slaughter age.
Commenting on the issue of reducing slaughter age of cattle and how it will be achieved, Tallon said: “The payment system in place today has driven the age of beef cattle at slaughter, down. If we can continue that trend, it will help to meet the targets required of us.”
The panel discussion was chaired by the report’s author, Padraig Brennan.
The speakers in the panel discussion were: Dale Crammond, MII director; Kevin Cahill, ABP Food Group Ireland and Poland managing director; Philip Tallon, Dawn Meats; and Simon Walker, Kepak CEO.
The new MII report was launched by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, at the organisation’s headquarters in Dublin today.