I propose to take Questions Nos. 484 and 483 together.
There is no legal definition of a feedlot herd. The Department defines certain herds as Controlled Finishing Units in the context of the Bovine TB Eradication Programme. This definition is unique to that programme and does not necessarily mirror definitions of the term "feedlot" as proscribed by the public and/or other institutions. Therefore, eligibility for any scheme or payment is not determinable based on the definition of a Controlled Finishing Unit under the Bovine TB Eradication Programme. Please see below two tables as follows:
Kill numbers (rounded) at EU approved slaughter plants originating in Controlled Finishing Units by month and year
Table3
The above figures are published on a monthly basis here:
https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/f55f2-bovine-birth-and-movements-monthly-reports/#kill-numbers-at-eu-approved-slaughter-plants-originating-in-controlled-finishing-units
These figures are not produced on a weekly basis.
Kill numbers at EU approved slaughter plants originating in Controlled Finishing Units by month and year as a % of total national kill.
Table4
* Details for November not available until mid-December.
Under the PGI application for Irish Grass Fed Beef, feedlots are defined and excluded as per the Grass Fed Beef Standard as follows: “A Farm enterprise where, through assessment of Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS) Audit data, it is determined that animals are farmed in confined systems and whose diet consists of high levels of concentrate feeding.”
The PGI specification requires that “Irish Grass Fed Beef” only includes cattle that:
(a) Derive at least 90% of their feed intake from grass. This is primarily grazed grass, with winter feeding of conserved grass (silage and hay).
(b) Spend a minimum of 220 days per year throughout their lifetime grazing pasture with a tolerance for exceptional conditions,
as determined by the Bord Bia 1, Grass Fed Standard 2.
1 - Irish Food Board
2 - https://www.bordbia.ie/globalassets/bordbia2020/farmers--growers/grass-fed-standard/grass-fed-beef-standard-revision-02-draft1.pdf