September 18, 2020

Irish suckler farmers take issue with PGI application for grass-fed beef

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) has slammed the application of the Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) for a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) for Irish grass-fed beef, calling it a "one-size-fits-all application because it is too diluted and undermines the potential to get a premium price for specialist suckler beef production."

PGI is an EU scheme to protect and promote high-quality traditional and regional food products unique to a geographic area. The application, ICSA suckler committee chairman Ger O'Brien said, represents a missed opportunity to build a brand around suckler beef, which "is a less intensive farming system with much lower use of medicines and outside interventions". Moreover, it "offers the highest level of animal welfare and it is critical to the economies of disadvantaged areas".

ICSA, an officially recognised representative association of suckler and beef farmers, cited several grounds for its opposition to Bord Bia's application including the inclusion of most dairy-derived beef, which means that "it is too diluted to achieve a premium price for suckler beef".

ICSA also noted that the PGI designations typically return a premium of 30%, as per the European Commission. "However", ICSA claimed, "Bord Bia has played down any ambition for a premium price and suggested it might be worth 5%". 

ICSA likewise said the creation of a generic PGI for grass-fed beef was totally incoherent with the promise by Bord Bia to develop a suckler or natural beef brand. "[I]f it goes though in its current format, it will signal the end of any determined effort to brand suckler beef as a speciality product", it added.

Earlier this month, the Irish Farmers' Association claimed that Bord Bia had failed to discuss the PGI document with farmers before it was published.