Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 16 April 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Future of the Beef Sector: Discussion (Resumed)

Mr. Edmund Graham:

My point was that when I have attended marts, I have seen animals weighing 250 kg at two years of age, while continental animals weigh 400 kg at a year old. Can the Deputy explain the difference? We need efficiency. I did not say dairy farmers should pay for the lairage, but rather the dairy industry. I will stand by my remarks that the lesser-quality calves remain in the country. The Deputy knows as well as me what is happening to many of the Jersey-cross calves and that must be addressed.