Meat Industry Ireland (MII) has welcomed the emphasis on earlier finishing in the beef sector outlined in the new Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) published by Teagasc last week.
The Ibec body, which represents the meat processing sector, said that the new MACC provided “further evidence” for the impact of earlier finishing times on sustainability.
Speaking this morning (Tuesday, July 18), Dale Crammond, the director of MII, commented: “The various options for the mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the new MACC serves as a valuable resource for the entire beef industry, providing insights and strategies to achieve sustainable practices and reducing environmental impact.
“The earlier finishing age measure aligns with our recently published Irish Beef Sector Sustainability Report and Roadmap to 2030, and could deliver emissions reductions of up to 732kt CO2 equivalent (CO2e) annually by 2030.”
According to Crammond, the sector has already made progress in achieving a current average of 26 months of finishing age for beef cattle.
“This has been delivered as part of a suite of connected market specifications, while ensuring economic viability of our industry,” Crammond said.
He added: “The challenge now is to deliver on the Climate Action Plan objectives of achieving an average finishing age of 22 [to] 23 months by 2030.
“This is the single measure that has the largest potential for mitigating GHG emissions, with potential to contribute some 15% of total emissions reduction.
“Collaboration between all stakeholders, including farmers, processors, researchers, and policymakers, will be crucial to effectively deliver on this objective,” the MII director commented.
Crammond said that MII and its members will continue to cooperate with Teagasc and other relevant parties to “explore innovative solutions and support the adoption of best practices”.
The new MACC was launched last Wednesday (July 12) by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue.
According to Teagasc, the MACC identifies the most cost-effective pathways to cut GHG emissions and enhance carbon sequestration for the agriculture sector and the land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sectors.
The MACC is a graph which visualises the abatement potential of GHG mitigation measures, and the relative costs associated with each of these measures.
Teagasc said this updated MACC will help stakeholders make informed decisions about how to allocate resources for emissions reductions.