Glen Cooper, the manager in Mountrath Mart, says there is a level of negativity around beef farming at the moment that he has never experienced before.
And he also hit out at the 30-day movement rule in the Quality Assurance scheme as “bereaucratic bullshit”.
“I’m in the job five or six years and I’ve never seen it as negative,” he told the Beef Plan 2018-2025 meeting in Ratheniska on Tuesday evening of this week.
“Lads are selling cattle because they have to sell them – but they’re not getting enough for them.”
Cooper also criticised the Beef Data and Genomics Scheme, saying that it is “totally skewed” in favour of dairy farmers.
“I’m not having a go at the dairy sector but it’s totally skewed that way.
“There are good quality cattle wanted on the continent but we can’t get them out because we don’t have them.”
Cooper told a story of two regular buyers in Mountrath who used to be buying up to 60 cattle at a time a couple of years ago.
“Those same two customers came in last week and bought one animal. The week before they left before the sale even started.”
And Cooper, who also farms himself, says he calved a cow recently during the night but found himself questioning why he was doing it.
“I was wrecked the next day and I was just thinking what a waste of time that was because I’m never going to get properly paid for calving that cow.
“You come home at night and you know in your heart and soul that you’re not going to get paid for it.”
The Beef Plan 2018-2025 meeting in Laois was attended by over 300 local beef farmers. The group has been set up as a national meeting and was addressed by local co-ordinator Enda Fingleton from Ratheniska and chairman Eamon Corley from Meath.
They aim to get 40,000 members around the country and intend to take on the meat factories, who they claim aren’t paying them fairly for what they produce.
It is also the aim of the group to set up purchasing groups, producer groups and to link up with small abbatoirs to kill cattle themselves and sell directly to the shops.
SEE ALSO – Laois farmers speak passionately as huge crowd attend Beef Plan meeting
