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After over 30 hours of talks, a deal has been reached between the meat industry and farm organisations.
It marks a positive step forward in a crisis that has brought huge disruption to the beef sector now for over seven weeks.
But it should not be described as a deal that will bring the crisis to an end. At a base price of €3.50/kg, the sector remains in the grip of a financial crisis.
Instead, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed is right to describe it as “an agreement on the way forward for the Irish beef sector”.
There was never going to be a silver bullet that could return the sector to profitability overnight and those who convinced farmers otherwise were wrong to do so.
What has been agreed is multi-strand plan – one strand dealing with the immediate issues raised by farmers and one putting a structure in place to deal with the more complex issues such as those relating to lack of transparency around market prices, carcase specifications and carcase trim.
Dividend
The immediate dividend to the farmer is enhanced bonus payments, not only the current in-spec bonus for under-30-month animals but also for steers and heifers that are slaughtered between 30 and 36 months, plainer O- grading animals and those grading 4+ on fat.
This will see a much wider range of steers and heifers now receiving a bonus payment ranging from 8c/kg to 20c/kg.
A new beef market price index will also be introduced to cover cattle prices, market prices in our main export markets and offal prices. There is also an agreement to carry out an immediate scientific review of the QPS, alongside a commitment for an independent review of carcase specifications and more transparency around carcase classification.
The plan will see a consultation process launched around unfair trading practices, under which the introduction of an independent regulator will be considered.
Of course, the entire agreement is based on all protests coming to an end.
Careful language
Some have highlighted the difficulty they will face in “selling” the agreement to those on the gates. Again language should be chosen carefully. It is not a case of selling this agreement. It is a case of explaining it for what it is – a positive step forward. It is not a silver bullet and the temptation to oversell it should be resisted.
It is a case of explaining it for what it is – a positive step forward
It should be explained that standing down protests will not only see farmers secure a win in terms of the structure of bonus payments, but also allow a process that will deliver increased transparency across a range of key areas to begin.
Furthermore, the extent to which the recent protests have elevated the crisis in the beef sector at political level should not be ignored.
Of course, the third strand of any plan has to be a commitment from the Government to put in place a suitable funding model for the sector. We are just weeks out from Budget 2020 and heading into the key stages of the next CAP reform. A key part of any plan on the way forward for the sector cannot ignore the need for a proper funding structure underpinning its economic viability. Minister Creed should not be let off the hook in this regard by rejecting the agreement.
Consequences
At the same time the consequences of staying on the gates and continuing to lock down the sector should be made clear.
The consequences will be much more than simply scrapping the measures that are currently on the table. The financial impact that maintaining protests will have on fellow farmers, not just those with beef cattle to sell but farmers starting to offload weanlings in a market that is being starved of cashflow, should be made clear to everyone.
In numerous editorials we have highlighted the need for a Government-led plan to be put in place detailing the future of the beef sector. The lack of response and an apparent willingness to let the sector slowly wither away on the vine forced farmers to the gates of meat factories.
We finally have a commitment to put plan in place
We finally have a commitment to put plan in place. It would be reckless for all farmers if we lost this opportunity due to a lack of leadership.
Failing to come away from the gates, given what is now on the table, would signal an agenda of destruction rather than delivery.
It is time for protesters to leave the factory gates and give time to the minister to implement the plan.
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