The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
Local farming and mart representatives are leading the way in the battle to prevent hundreds of suckler cow producers facing “decimination” in the wake of the latest beef “crisis”. Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has been asked to take urgent action to deal with the crisis affecting thousands of beef producers at a meeting organised by the Clare Fianna Fáil Agriculture Committee. Their growing concern is highlighted in figures from the Teagasc National Farm Survey 2013, which show the difficulties facing suckler farmers and beef finishers. The figures show that, on average, net losses on suckling enterprises were 167% higher in 2013 than in 2012. “Suckler farmers lost an average of €123 per hectare, which is more than twice the level of the average negative net margin in 2012. In terms of loss per cow, the figure was €171, more than twice the 2012 figure, clearly representing an unsustainable level of losses,” said ICSA president, Patrick Kent. “Cattle finishers also …
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