Agreement has been reached to proceed with the application of Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status for Irish Grass Fed Beef – which will now include young bulls.
This move has been welcomed by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
The PGI will now be run by a farmer-controlled monitoring committee. In addition, a letter requesting the EU Commission to include young bulls, if they meet the grass-fed criteria, will accompany the application.
€6 million in funding has now been committed over the next three years to develop a suckler-based brand under the control of a farmer board.
Commenting, IFA president Tim Cullinan said: “It is clear that something substantial needs to be done to promote suckler beef as a specialised product.
In addition to the funding of €6 million which was agreed [last night, Thursday, October 22], the importance of building on the existing schemes to support suckler production and underpin the development of the brand was acknowledged by the minister and the taskforce.
In relation to the PGI application, the IFA president said the changes secured from the original draft included the removal of references to travel times and flexibilities on the 220 days at grass.
In addition, assessments for the meat and fat colour will only be carried out as part of the standard Bord Bia audit at factories and will not impact on the price paid to farmers for their grass-fed product.
Crucially, under the revised proposals farmers will have the majority on the monitoring and oversight groups for the PGI and the new suckler based brand.
“We have been in regular contact with our colleagues in the UFU [Ulster Farmers’ Union] and it is important that we don’t create any unintended barriers to trade between Northern Ireland and ourselves,” he said.
IFA Livestock Committee chairman Brendan Golden said: “This is a good outcome.
“The PGI will give us a chance to promote the world-renowned qualities of Irish beef while working on a brand for beef from suckler farms that promotes the quality, environmental and socio-economic benefits of this production system,” he said.