ICMSA “all guns blazing” response to factories’ ‘correcting’ farmer beef price

The Chairperson of ICMSA’s Livestock Committee, Michael O’Connell, has ridiculed what he said were the latest “obviously transparent” attempts by factories to control both live and slaughter trade this week.  Mr. O’Connell said that this “scaremongering and bluffing warranted nothing but an ‘all guns blazing’ rebuff by farmers” and he said that far from anticipating any downward movement in price, factories had always employed these tactics when they saw a tightening of supplies coming down the tracks.

“Our advice is to be very sceptical of the ‘control mechanisms’ that factories are trying to apply; they are in their peak Christmas ‘kill’ period and the demand for beef is intense. As we always say, the ‘data doesn’t lie’ and slaughter throughput has drastically reduced versus 2024 and we have all read and heard the factories expressing frustration about the stability of their future supplies of cattle. Where was the stability in farmers’ business models when factories undermined and ‘blackguarded’ farmers for the past 20 years? Factories weren’t too worried about the stability and viability of the farmers producing cattle then.  We are sure there is a fine bulky reserve of funds accumulated from years of underpaying farmers that can be used to pay the present prices for cattle”, said Mr. O’Connell.

The ICMSA Livestock Chairperson said that this week had seen factories attempting to cut the prices they were paying for prime cattle, including cull cows, as well as talking down the availability of flat prices for traditional breeds – specifically Angus cattle. He dismissed as “auld chat” commentary emanating from the factories about the weather ‘bringing stock out’ and cattle being €2/kg ahead of where they were this time last year.

“That’s completely irrelevant: the margin between buying and selling is no different and one thing for certain is that farmer costs incurred haven’t decreased, or the workload.  At this stage of the year with the inclement weather conditions, there is no beef cattle at grass, and we know that factories may have a few extra cattle available this week as they draw from their own feed lot cattle that they have been buying since mid-September.  This led to a less vibrant mart trade over the last week and it’s a way of allowing factories to control mart price in a bid to buy replacement feeding cattle at their own price for their own feedlots.  Yet again, it’s artificial supply management and shows the processors real attitude to farmers. With the throughput of cattle we have seen for the last number of months, it should have been relatively easy to fill a kill plan, particularly given that there have been very few or no plants slaughtering five days per week. The only ‘Saving Grace’ that is on their side this year is that there has been a slight increase in carcass weights due to the better grazing season. Live export has been extremely vibrant again this year as well as last year and all indications are that supply of beef cattle will be extremely tight in 2026”, said Mr. O’Connell.

According to the ICMSA Livestock Chairperson, the ‘writing is on the wall’.

“Bord Bia have revised the figures around availability of slaughter-age cattle and it must be worrying information for processors. Sooner or later, the factories are going to have to accept the reality that farmers cannot continue to purchase and feed cattle to be at ‘at the mercy’ of the factory when they are fit to kill. It’s too much of a gamble; in 2024 it was costing a farmer €160,000 -€170,000 to fill a shed with 100 year-and-a half continental bullocks, that same stock is costing €260,000-€270,000 this year. That’s a massive outlay on the part of the farmers and the element of ‘gamble’ has to be minimised with factories respecting the investment farmers are making”, continued Mr. O’Connell.

The ICMSA Chairperson said that until the factories were willing to give that degree of respect and recognition to the position of the farmers then the farmers were obliged to look after their own interests.

“Farmers need to sell hard; they should meet the factories ‘all guns blazing’ and tell them that if they need cattle to fill their Christmas orders – which they do – then they have to pay. Call their bluff: they want the cattle, let them come out and buy them”, he concluded.

Ends        20 November 2025

Michael O’Connell, 086-8551015

Chairperson, ICMSA Livestock Committee

Or

Cathal MacCarthy, 087-6168758

ICMSA Press Office