ICMSA identify “futile” attempts by Processors to regain control of beef trade

ICMSA livestock committee chair Michael O Connell has called out meat processors for what he considers their futile attempt to regain control of the beef trade.

Mr O’Connell cited reports that some processors have indicated they would not slaughter cattle unless they had more than 30-days residency in the final Quality Assured herd while also removing their own factory staff from ringside in an attempt to encourage farmers away from the marts to slaughter directly.

“We’ve also had talk about how demand in the UK is slowing down. But the price of beef there has increased; their population is still growing, and we are their nearest suppliers of beef out of a system they know and trust. There’s going to be a huge demand for Irish beef and yet again, the processors are just ‘fooling themselves’ in terms of trying to convince us of something that we can see is just not going to happen”, said Mr. O’Connell.

The ICMSA Livestock Chairperson said that there had been a huge swing in momentum regarding supply of beef cattle this year, completely frustrating the processors who found themselves in the unaccustomed role of having to battle it out ringside for beef cattle into the month of August.

“The irony is that all the tricks to try and get farmers to sell directly to the factories are having the opposite effect; beef cattle have increased in price in marts, and the return of more northern customers down south is keeping the pressure on and continuing the flow of beef cattle to marts”, he said. 

Mr. O’Connell said that the factories were attempting to control both mart and factory trade.

“By encouraging farmers to slaughter direct, it will stabilise mart prices allowing factories start buying stores at potentially lower prices for their own feed lots. That’s their logic, but it’s not going to work because it’s a sellers’ market. Our feeling is that they will be back ringside very quickly as they won’t have the cattle to kill. All the variables have come together for the farmers: Cattle are thriving, there is super grass growth, price is solid and even if cattle go over 30 months, the additional weight gain and increased kill-out percentage will more than compensate the potential loss in QA bonus”, said the expert commentator.

He said that ICMSA is aware of deals being offered where it was made clear that it didn’t matter if beef cattle were over or under 30 months, farmers were offered 20c/Kg QA as a ‘sweetener’.  Flat prices are well and truly still available for Friesian, Hereford and Angus cattle but mart prices are still notably ahead of slaughter price.

“In some marts heavy Friesian cattle made up to €4.20c/kg liveweight in comparison to top reported flat prices of €7.50/7.60c/kg from factories.  With a good beefy Friesian bullocks kill-out being in the region of 49%-51% depending on the conformation, you would need a flat price of €8.35 to €8.40 to equate to the mart price.”       

Mr. O’Connell said the only logical conclusion was that the processors were having to go over and above their own factory prices to secure numbers to fill their kill plans.

“We have seen slaughter throughput plummet further in the last few weeks with last week being a four-day working week with the August Bank Holiday saving their blushes over yet another fall in throughput.  We are heading towards mid-August, and the usual antics are being tried by processors. They are conscious of the need to start filling factory-owned or operated feedlot units and the attempt to ‘take the heat out’ of the mart trade is to try to and encourage farmers to slaughter rather than show cattle in marts. The factories hope that that will ‘knock on’ to lowering prices in the store trade. But none of this is going to work: The figures are there to back up the data, calf registrations have fallen yearly, live exports are booming, the number of available cattle for slaughter is just not there”, he said.

Mr. O’Connell said that the rise in cattle prices may not be a ‘spike’ but could in fact be ‘The New Normal’.

“And if it is then more power to it; farmers were systematically underpaid for decades”, he concluded.

Ends    13 August 2025

Michael O’Connell, 086-8551015

Chairperson, ICMSA Livestock Committee

Or

Cathal MacCarthy, 087-6168758

ICMSA Press Office