Beef farmers united in fury over future of sector

The trigger for their disgruntlement has been the continued year-long decline in the beef price which has now left beef farmers operating below the cost of production. Added to which, they now fear that production costs will escalate on the back of rising feed and bedding costs which are expected this winter.

After their meeting, Rob Livesay, of NFU Scotland, Alistair Mackintosh from the English NFU, Peter Davies from NFU Cymru and Ray Elkin from the Ulster Farmers' Union issued a joint statement on their concerns.

"We hear the right signals from the supply chain about the need to secure supply on a long-term basis but the short-term approach currently being taken illustrates that the market is failing to deliver," they said.

They claimed that at current prices beef producers would be unable to afford to produce beef this winter and some were starting to seriously question their future in the industry.

"This situation is made even more precarious by the volatile market conditions for inputs which we have witnessed in recent weeks. The drought in Russia, and reduced harvest yields in other parts of Europe, is already having a major impact on the price of grain, while fuel prices also remain very high."

Looking at the market, the union chiefs were pleased that the retail demand for beef continued to remain strong especially as this was happening against a background of increased supply.

They then stated that it was up to retailers and processors to start backing up their claims of commitment to UK beef farmers in order to install confidence and drive sustainability.

"We have started to see some positive initiatives from some within the supply chain but we need to see these go further and backed up by greater commitment to UK produce," they said.

"It's clear that the UK consumer wants to buy UK beef; they recognise its quality, our stringent standards of animal welfare and the huge environmental benefits of UK beef over imported products.

However, the unions' call for more cash to be pumped into the system was dismissed as "unrealistic" by the Scottish Beef Cattle Association, with development executive Brian Simpson stating: "One thing for certain - no wholesaler or retailer is going to pay a penny more than he needs to as they struggle to make their own margins."

His answer to the present lack of profitability in the beef sector lay in farmers concentrating on what they could do to help themselves."The first step is to forward budget your beef enterprise. Make realistic estimates of prices you will pay for all major inputs such as purchases of store cattle, feeds and fertilisers.

"If you cannot make it work on paper at this stage then you are trusting to luck that input prices will fall or finished prices rise above current levels to leave an unexpected profit."

He added: "As an industry we need to keep a close watching brief on imports from cheaper countries.

"If Brazil gained free access to Europe again then prices could drop right back by 30 per cent or more."