The outlook for Northern Ireland’s beef and lamb sector this year is promising, according to the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC).
Reflecting on 2023, the commission’s interim chief executive officer (CEO), Colin Smith, acknowledged that it had been a year of peaks and troughs across all aspects of farming life.
The year began with buoyant trade returning record prices, with more challenging market conditions in latter months.
Further challenges were presented due to rising inflation, labour shortages and extremely challenging weather conditions – the effects of which continue to be felt by farmers on the ground at this time.
Smith said: “The bigger picture issues, such as evidencing our sustainability credentials, the roll-out of future farm support measures, sustainable farm incomes and market access will remain to the fore.
“However, adding to these matters will be several other priorities that will serve to frame the development of the ruminant sectors throughout Northern Ireland.
“Here in Northern Ireland, our farmers produce beef and lamb, which is among the most sustainable in the world.”
Sustainability in NI beef and lamb sectors
According to the LMC representative, the industry is collaboratively working to evidence its sustainability credentials in the strongest form.
“Evidencing our sustainability credentials will enable the industry to progress on a strong footing, and this is a shared vision,” he continued.
“The year past, saw the formation of the Carbon Steering Group, an alliance which brings together farmers and industry partners from across the agri-food industry.
To date, LMC has spearheaded ground breaking work on development of a bespoke carbon survey, which captures on-farm data and delivers valuable information to assist farmers and their advisers to tailor future sustainability improvement pathways for their farms,” Smith explained.
Throughout 2023, the LMC said that it successfully completed a research and development phase of carbon data collection.
A much larger programme funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) is planned to begin in 2024.
This will allow a baseline carbon calculation to be created for all farms across Northern Ireland over the next number of years.
“In addition to this, we have seen the further rollout of the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme and strong progress on Sustainable Ruminant Genetics,” Smith added.
“These initiatives are the envy of many stakeholders in Great Britain. Producer organisations have shown strong leadership in championing this work.”
‘Irish Grass Fed Beef’
The latter part of 2023 brought confirmation from the European Commission to the effect that its scrutiny of the amended application to register a protected geographical indication (PGI) for Irish Grass Fed Beef on an all-island basis, fulfilled regulatory requirements.
“This is another step forward in our ability to promote our sustainable credentials. The PGI will add another string to our bow, and enable positive marketing of our beef under this exclusive banner in the years ahead,” Smith emphasised.
“However, there is some work to be done to establish a verification system before the full potential of this new PGI can be reached.”
Future farm support
A timeline for the roll-out of a new programme of farm support and development was published by DAERA in June of last year.
“The targeting of support points very clearly to sustainable food production,” Smith continued.
“Since the publication of the timeline we have seen movement across a number of areas, including the Ruminant Genetics programme and confirmation that the Beef Carbon Reduction Scheme will commence from this month onward.
“Over the next four years, this scheme will support a reduction in the maximum age at slaughter of clean finished beef animals.
Farmers slaughtering beef cattle at, or below, the target age will receive a payment for each eligible animal.”
The scheme aims to help improve efficiencies for beef producers while reducing emissions.
“We anticipate movement on the Farming for Carbon Benchmarking in early 2024, among other measures,” he said.
“This suite of support measures will require some adjustment and it is important that farmers are kept fully informed of changes as they roll out.”
Farm Quality Assurance
According to the LMC representative, the Northern Ireland Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme (NIBL FQAS) closed out 2023 on a strong and stable footing.
“NIBL FQAS membership has remained steady over the past 12 months. The figure currently sits at approximately 11,500 producers,” Smith said.
Another priority for LMC in 2024, will be the campaign to encourage the responsible use of antimicrobials.
The good news is that the initiative continued to gather momentum in 2023. A three-year programme of free training courses on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) usage concluded at the end of October last.
To date, over 10,000 farmers across Northern Ireland have undertaken training with many very experienced farmers, reflecting back to LMC that the knowledge gained was invaluable to their animal health planning.
Colin Smith sees NIBL FQAS continuing to play an important role in the future of the agri-food industry.
“NIBL FQAS has established itself as an integral part of the agri-food industry, providing unrivalled assurances to consumers about the quality and traceability of beef and lamb.
“Over the past three decades, the scheme has continuously evolved in line with changing consumer demands and legislative requirements,” he added.
“NIBL FQAS provides a foundation and gateway to access key markets, and this will remain unchanged in 2024.
“At a fundamental level we will continue to support our farmer members and meet them at their point of access, on the ground at livestock markets across Northern Ireland,” the CEO added.
Education Programme
According to Colin Smith, the LMC’s education programme enjoyed continued success over the past 12 months.
“The team successfully delivered 475 in-school beef and lamb cookery demonstrations in primary and post-primary schools across the province, reaching approximately 10,000 pupils,” he explained.
In addition, 2023 saw the return of the Meat4School’s competition and red meat workshops.
“These enable food and nutrition teachers to develop their theoretical knowledge, practical skills and confidence when preparing and cooking red meat,” Smith said.
Throughout 2023, LMC was involved in a number of consumer facing promotional activities and industry initiatives including: Balmoral Show; Beef Week; Love Lamb Week; and Open Farm Weekend.
“Plans are in place to grow and strengthen the commission’s education programme and consumer promotions work to share the positive attributes of farm quality assured beef and lamb.
“This will include the re-launch of a multi-platform advertising campaign in 2024,” Smith added.
Market Information
Meanwhile, LMC’s Market Information department is continuing its remit to examine and inform the Northern Ireland red meat industry.
According to the commission, this activity supports farmers and processors with their decision making, through the provision of accurate and timely information.
“The beginning of 2023 painted a positive picture with a buoyant market generating positive returns.
“As the year progressed, the marketplace became more challenging with fluctuations in returns,” Smith said.
“Poor weather, challenging harvest conditions and high input costs added to the challenges faced by beef and sheep producers.
“As 2023 ended we saw a tightening of supplies, driving an upward shift in paid prices for cattle.
“Farmers will be hoping that spring comes early this year to ease pressure on fodder supplies that may have been of limited quality given the challenging harvest conditions in 2023,” he said.