The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has said that work is continuing on an interim report on the beef sector by the Food Vision Beef and Sheep Group.

Under the terms of reference for the group, the document had been due to be presented to Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue by the end of September.

A final report setting out how emissions associated with the beef sector can be reduced is due to be submitted to the minister by end of November.

A spokesperson for the DAFM told Agriland that a meeting of the group due to take place today (Thursday, September 29) has been “rescheduled”.

They said that details of the next meeting will be circulated to group members “in due course”.

“Work is ongoing on the drafting of the interim report to the minister,” the spokesperson added.

The remit of the group, established by Minister McConalogue, is to identify measures that the beef and sheep sectors can take to contribute to reducing emissions from the agricultural sector.

Membership of the group, chaired by Prof. Thia Hennessy, includes representatives from the DAFM; some farming organisations; Teagasc; Bord Bia; University College Dublin (UCD); Animal Health Ireland (AHI); and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Earlier this month, several farming organisations moved to clarify that no agreement had been reached on a suckler farmer exit scheme.

A discussion document prepared for the group by the department of agriculture, seen by Agriland, outlines 17 proposed measures to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the beef sector.

These are set out in the short, medium and long term, and correspond with the three carbon budget periods.

Along with a voluntary exit/reduction scheme, the department proposals include reducing the age of slaughter to an average of 24-27 months and reducing the age of first calving from 36 to 24 months.

The draft document also includes proposals to increase organic production and the reduction of chemical nitrogen (N) use in the beef sector.