Ireland: Factories must recognise breakeven price for finishers

Factories have been warned that a reluctance to pay farmers breakeven prices in the first half of 2023 could result in a shortage of prime beef, as finishers opt to keep cattle until the spring. Chair of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) livestock committee Des Morrison, said that factories must recognise the margin pressures that finishers are under and that €6/kg is now the breakeven minimum. Their reluctance to do so “is going to translate into a decision on the farmers’ part to finish their cattle on grass later in the spring”, he said. “This is going to mean a shortage of prime beef going into factories and much more competition amongst beef processors for available throughput. “We have been here before where the factories end up being too grasping for their own good. Advertisement “They could have paid a price that covered the feed and other inputs required by winter finishers, but they tried to be smart and short-change them,” said Morrison. According ...