October 17, 2024

 

Meat Industry Ireland releases new sustainability charter for Irish beef production

 

 

A new sustainability charter has been published by Meat Industry Ireland (MII) on October 9 that will see key measures including increased investment, enhanced reporting, and the implementation of methane mitigating breeding strategies.

 

The Charter for Sustainable Irish Beef has been signed up to by beef producing members of MII, the Ibec sector association representing primary beef, pork and lamb processing facilities.

 

The charter was officially launched by Ireland's Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue.

 

The charter commits beef processors "to accelerate the decarbonisation of beef production and encourage best practice among their suppliers", according to MII.

 

"It also requires them to protect the natural environment and deliver broad-based benefits for society while remaining profitable, maintaining livelihoods, and enhancing food security," the MII statement explained.

 

Priority actions such as environmental stewardship, animal care, supply chain resilience, health and nutrition, and sustainability are outlined in the charter and the metrics that should be used to measure, validate, and record progress are also detailed.

 

The priority actions in the Charter for Sustainable Irish Beef includes:

 

    - Earlier slaughter age with the aim of an average slaughter age of 22-23 months by 2030;

 

    - Working with suppliers to implement methane mitigating breeding strategies for cattle from both beef and dairy herds;

 

    - Encouraging suppliers to adopt management measures that reduce greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions;

 

    - Supporting the reduction of carbon emissions at individual farm and animal level;

 

    - Ongoing investment in knowledge transfer initiatives through advisory partnerships;

 

    - Demonstration farms and in-house agriculture teams;

 

    - A commitment to science-based targets, data capture, and measurement systems to allow the beef sector to track and transparently report progress;

 

    - Playing a more proactive role in renewable energy generation through solar, wind, and anaerobic digestion;

    - The ongoing provision of targeted financial supports to assist with the decarbonisation of processing and technology adoption at farm level;

 

    - Water quality training and action plans for beef suppliers in priority areas;

 

    - Wastewater treatment systems that consistently meet or exceed water quality standards;

 

    - Maintaining space for nature on livestock farms;

 

    - Increased implementation of breeding practices to boost the quality of calves from the dairy herd for beef production.

 

The charter also outlines the significant progress made by MII members since the publication of the Irish Beef Sector Sustainability Progress to Date and Roadmap to 2030 in February 2023.

 

The Sustainability Progress Report shows that MII members have invested almost €200 million in sustainability initiatives at processing and farm level since 2015. It also shows a reduction in absolute emissions in the beef sector of 4%, a 13% drop in the rolling three-year average beef carbon footprint, and a lowering of the average finishing age for prime cattle to 25.8 months, a reduction of 0.6 months.

 

The beef sector remains a mainstay in rural communities in Ireland, with 90,000 farm families and 25,000 jobs supported.

 

The director of MII, Dale Crammond, said: "The beef sector is committed to accelerating the sustainability progress made to date through a focus on delivering measurable impacts across clearly identified priority areas.

 

"This aligns with the direction of the National Climate Action Plan and increasingly, marketplace requirements, as leading customers commit to more sustainable value chains over the longer term.

 

"The charter seeks to articulate and serve as a guide to the sustainability ambitions of the Irish beef sector to consistently deliver best practice in managing the natural environment, enhancing rural communities, and supporting livelihoods."

 

"Delivering on the charter will require significant, ongoing efforts by all stakeholders including processors and their suppliers. It is also vital that progress is tracked and that is why the charter contains a requirement to report annually and transparently across a range of environmental, social, and economic measures.

 

"In taking these actions, our members can continue to safeguard food security both here in Ireland and in the markets we export to, while supporting farmers on the ground."

 

- Agriland