It was almost disheartening to see the level of frustration and lack of positive engagement between the crowd of suckler farmers and the top table at the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) meeting on the beef breeding indexes last Tuesday night, in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the new Beef Eurostar evaluations. The event was well attended. Some attendees held placards in protest for the duration of the meeting.
Many farmers in attendance issued scathing criticisms of both the new indexes and the personnel at the top table at the meeting.
Some farmers felt that the cattle breeders themselves did not get enough input into the upgraded evaluations.
Other farmers reported to the meeting that some of their ‘good cows’ only had one star and their ‘bad cow’ had five stars.
It was clear from the event that there is a real lack of trust between some farmers and the industry experts who are there to offer their advice to farmers.
The index-bashing ran well into the late hours of Tuesday night and while there were a few young faces in the crowd, it wasn’t a patch on the number of young people in attendance at the Carrick Winter Fair which took place the previous night.
Commentary from the crowd at the meeting was primarily from the older farmers with less input from the younger farmers in the crowd, it seemed.
While the indexes may be far from perfect, farmers need to remember they do not have to be ‘the be all and end all’ guide for breeding cattle and are there to offer farmers assistance.
In 2022, Kildalton College’s suckler farm made a gross margin of €1,812/ha and had a resulting net margin of €1,195/ha.
John O’Connor, the now retired farm manager often credited the development of breeding indexes as being part of the success story of this suckler herd.
The Teagasc National Farm Survey showed that the top third of suckler farms grew their net margin by €275/ha in 2023.
Looking at the average suckler herd, direct payments accounted for 182% of farms’ income in 2022. This ultimately means that a substantial amount of the direct payment was needed to sustain production on the average suckler farm in 2022.
Benefits of changes to the indexes?
Surely a breeding index reform that prioritised a cow with lower maintenance costs and higher-fertility would be welcomed on these farms?
I wondered at one stage of the meeting if farmers had forgotten the indexes are supposed to be there as a guideline to aid farmers, not a stick to bash farmers with.
Farmers who prefer to breed their cattle without the aid of indexes can, and should do so freely.
However, if farmers wish to avail of the optional Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) , they must have 50% eligible females in their herd on the given reference date.
This increases to 65% by October 31, 2025 and increases further to 75% by October 31, 2027. Eligible females must be at least 16 months of age. The remaining cows can be anything the farmer wishes.
In this debacle, the negative criticism is getting much more publicity that the positive story and I wonder why this is. There are many herds that have benefitted greatly from the index changes.
Suckler cow numbers are in freefall at the moment and if the Irish suckler herd is to have any hope of surviving with a respectable number of cows, a bit of joined-up thinking will be needed between farmers and the industry experts.
Both sides of this argument can and should try to learn something from each other and figure out a way to work together for the benefit of suckler farming in Ireland.