It’s well publicised information at this stage that Ireland will probably have to look at ways of reducing the average slaughter age of its cattle to reduce emissions from the agricultural sector.
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has said, on a number of occasions, that a reduction in the average age of slaughter from 27 months to 24 months would result in a 1/8th (12.5%) reduction in biogenic methane emissions, and that the government is working towards reducing the average age of slaughter.
While reducing the finishing age of beef cattle seems like an ‘easy fix’ option, it will ultimately result in lower carcass weights – reducing the overall price per beef animal that farmers receive.
Also, it is important to outline that some breeds are more suited to finishing earlier than others – namely Angus and Herefords.
Producing beef cattle that are factory-fit before the end of the second summer or at 24-months of age will, no doubt, be a challenge and many types of stock would be difficult to get factory-fit at the lower age.
It will require more effort and inputs from farmers and ultimately result in a lower overall price per animal due to reduced slaughter weight, therefore, if the idea is to get buy-in from producers, beef farmers will have to be remunerated accordingly.
With this in mind, Teagasc’s drystock advisor, Colm Kelly, has given an outline of how the move would affect Irish beef farmers.
Kelly explained: “To finish spring born cattle at 24 months will mean finishing out of the shed.
“In this case the feed input and housing costs are significant and require good silage quality, competitive feed sourcing and a strong beef price.
“This indoor feeding really requires high performance and good grades to make sense and for less-specialised operators, it is easy to feed away your margins.”
Commenting on alternative options for beef farmers, Kelly suggested that farmers could bring forward finishing to 18-20 months where “a larger proportion can be finished off grass which reduces inputs and housing costs”.