The Irish Beef and Lamb Association (IBLA) has said there “now appears to be more questions than answers” on the revised beef breeding indices following a meeting of sector stakeholders this week.
The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) organised the meeting yesterday (February 1) in an attempt to address the concerns of beef stakeholders.
It is understood that some breeders and breed societies are concerned over how the evaluation of animals under the new indices will impact on their profitability.
Following the meeting, the IBLA claimed that the progress towards addressing the issue was “minimal”.
“Following this meeting there are now, it appears, more questions than ever before in relation to the validity of the indices,” the IBLA said.
The farm group added: “The volume and nature of the questions raised in the meeting today could leave no one under any other impression other than this index is flawed.
“The revised index is such that those that have developed it have in our opinion comprehensively failed to convince the industry stakeholders that the underpinning assumptions and revised economic model they have used is correct.”
The IBLA said that it asked the ICBF to revert back to the pre-November 2023 indices to allow time to address the concerns that have been raised.
The group also claimed that the intervention from Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue the previous day – providing some flexibility for farmers in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) who may be impacted by the changes to the indices – was an “indication of no confidence”.
“If the index was without issue, no such concessions would be required.”
The IBLA has already said that it will seek legal advice with a view to getting a court injunction to prevent ICBF from making public the results of evaluations using the new indices.
The group said it is undeterred from this course of action, saying that progress was being made on assembling a legal team.
Beef indices meeting
The ICBF has confirmed that the beef stakeholder group is due to meet again later this month following yesterday’s meeting in Co. Offaly.
Commenting on the meeting, Sean Coughlan, ICBF chief executive, said: “ICBF acknowledges the frustration that many are feeling and the impact that the recent changes have had on farmers.
“We are committed to staying engaged with this process and will be back to the next meeting with actions taken from today’s meeting,” Coughlan added.
The ICBF and Teagasc have confirmed that the next industry stakeholder meeting will be scheduled for February 22, where a number of the points raised will be addressed.