HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE

year hold for beef farmers?

On the positive side, in spite of an increase in supply, there appears to be a fairly strong demand for beef cattle, also we hear repeated reports of new market outlets and opportunities for beef exports.

However, the shadow of Brexit and Mercosur continues to loom large over our multi billion export business. And the noises emanating from Brussels in relation to cuts in EU farm support payments is another cause for concern.

When the pressure is on our sector and prices are dropping, one of the many remedies which our politicians will invariably announce is extra state aid for research in food technology and food science.

As a producer of good naturally produced high quality food, when I hear this I sometimes wonder could our politicians and experts have actually lost their way?

I happened to be in Dublin on the day of the recent Ireland-Scotland rugby match, so I dropped into a pub in Dun Laoghaire to watch the game. During the half-time interval I got chatting with another supporter who said that he had just popped in from his business across the street to see the match.

Recipe

As it happened his name was Nigel Hicks of Hicks the well known family butchers in Dun Laoghaire, renowned for their hand-made pork products.

Curious about how things were at the retail coalface, I asked Nigel if he found that consumer tastes had evolved and changed a lot over the years? His response was very interesting.

He told me that they still process all their own products and that they use the same recipe in the making of their sausages as his grandfather had used over 90 years ago.

This excludes the use of modern chemicals and preservatives and it is this natural, unprocessed quality which his customers look for and are willing to travel great distances to purchase.

So why can’t we do this with our unique natural beef product?

We all know that the market is out there and consumers are happy to pay for high quality natural food. But what do we do? We continue to pour millions into research on processes which could actually debase and devalue our premium products.

This makes no sense at all,

John Heney farms in Kilfeackle, Co Tipperary

PHOTO O’GORMAN PHOTOGRAPHY Shane Randles, Salesian Agricultural College pictured with Kilrush Community School pupils Padraig Donoghue and Thomas Kelly at a careers open day in the Salesian Agricultural College, Pallaskenry, Co Limerick.