Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 13 December 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Recent Reclassification of Beef Indexes: Discussion

Mr. Sean Coughlan:

I go back to the need for independent evaluations. Feed costs have risen dramatically. I think the Deputy will acknowledge that. That affects the financial viability of suckler farms. If we are recommending by means of the indexes the most profitable animals to use, there are two people in that transaction. If we are talking about bulls, there is a person selling the bull and the person buying the bull. In a lot of the discussion nobody is thinking about the person who will buy the bull. I am not undermining the difficulties pedigree breeders selling stock bulls will face but we have a responsibility to the person buying the bull.