ICSA's newly elected Beef chair, Laois farmer Sean Sherman, has said beef farmers are facing a crisis of confidence as factory prices plunge, leaving producers unable to plan and questioning the future of the sector.

Mr Sherman, who was elected at the Association's AGM in Portlaoise last week, said the scale and speed of the recent price drop is "simply incomprehensible" to farmers. "Right now, farmers are receiving around €1.10/kg less for cattle than they were at the beginning of December. That equates to a loss of approximately €450/hd for farmers. That is completely unsustainable for any beef farmer trying to make a living," he said.

 He said farmers had made rational and justified decisions to hold cattle into the spring based on clear market signals. "With the kill projected to be significantly back in the first quarter, farmers were absolutely within their rights to expect that prices would at least remain stable. Instead, factories have cut prices dramatically, despite the kill being down by over 62,000 head so far this year. That represents a drop of approximately 16% compared to the same period last year and completely ignores the basic laws of supply and demand."

Mr Sherman said that, had farmers known what factories were going to do with prices, many would have thought twice about keeping cattle into the spring. "Farmers made decisions in good faith, expecting to at least cover their costs this spring. Once again, those expectations have been completely undermined. It also defies logic that Irish beef prices are around 30c/kg behind those in the UK and across Europe. Farmers are rightly demanding to know why we are at the bottom of the EU price league."

 He said it is now time for full transparency and accountability from processors. "Meat Industry Ireland and factory management need to be called before the Oireachtas to explain what is going on. Farmers cannot continue to operate in a vacuum where prices can be cut at will without explanation. Beef farmers need answers. They need clarity. And above all, they need a system that allows them to plan with some degree of certainty about their future."