The European farming industry has suffered in recent years. The BSE crisis and foot and mouth disease outbreak were the main causes of the hardship. While matters appear to have improved on the Continent, Irish farmers continue to be quoted low prices for their beef by the beef processing industry. Recent market trends appear to suggest that the price of beef should be rising. The UK market is very active and across Europe cattle prices have increased by €40 per head since July and demand for Irish beef has been very strong.