Row brewing over dispersal of €50m beef support fund

Rival farm organisations on collision course over which animals should qualify for compensation

President Pat McCormack said the basis for this is that farmers who slaughtered cattle during this period have suffered from Brexit or Covid-related losses and farmers typically slaughter similar numbers each year.

“By picking a full year, we are reflecting the fact that all farmers who slaughtered cattle over that period have suffered losses,” he said.

“And while the reality is that the €50m fund will only partially compensate farmers for their losses, it is still important that all farmers’ losses are recognised.”

Mr McCormack also confirmed that ICMSA’s submission to the Department included a stipulation that “where an animal has been presented for slaughter within 30 days of purchase, including those animals purchased in the mart or farm-to-farm, that payment should issue to the immediate previous herdowner”.

ICMSA is also proposing that animals reared in the Republic but slaughtered in the North should be included.

In what is obviously a reference to the fact that the BEAM fund ended up with unused monies, Mr McCormack specifically proposed that the payment rate applied to be calculated on the basis of utilising the full €50m budget up to the maximum 80 head and that the payments be issued as soon as possible.

ICSA beef chair Edmund Graham said the €50m should be divided equally among all eligible animals for which an application has been submitted and that the scheme should not operate on the basis of a fixed amount per head because that would run the risk of unused funds reverting to the exchequer.

ICSA believes the fund should be allocated on the basis of cattle sold in the period December 2019 – June 10, 2020, only on stock over 12 months of age. It is also proposing that dairy cows be excluded.

“This time-frame orientates the compensation towards higher-cost winter finishers who would have anticipated a better market had Covid-19 not arisen,” Mr Graham said.

ICSA is proposing that the maximum number of animals eligible per farmer should be capped at 200 head and that livestock owned by meat factories or produced from feedlots controlled by factories should be ineligible.

Meanwhile, IFA is calling for the money to be distributed between all finished cattle including steers, heifers, young bulls and cows, with the exception of cows with conformation score P and fat score 1 and calves.

It also says the payment rate must be a minimum of €100 per finished animal and there should be no restrictive limit on the number of eligible animals per farm which qualify.

In its submission, it says the payment should apply to all finished cattle sold in the marts, provided those cattle were slaughtered within 30 days of purchase. Further, it says payments should apply to finished cattle exported live to Northern Ireland.

Key disagreements are likely to emerge over the reference dates and as to whether dairy cows or young bulls should be included