Vol. 516 No. 6
240 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if he will set out in tabular form the beef classification for steers, cows, heifers and bulls in each of the years from 1990 to 1999; and the reason for the deterioration in the grades of Irish cattle in the past ten years. [8990/00]
The carcase classification results for all categories of cattle slaughtered in licensed meat export premises in Ireland during the period 1990-98 are as outlined in my reply to Question No. 167 of 15 June 1999. The results for 1999 are given in the annex.
The grades of Irish cattle as measured on the EU classification system deteriorated in the period 1990 to 1998 but showed an improvement in 1999. A number of factors have contributed to the deterioration in grades. The main factors involved were the flat pricing system operated by meat processors and changes in the genetic composition of the cattle herd, brought about mainly by the increasing use of the Holstein breed in the dairy herd. In addition, the low level of live trade to third countries in recent years has also been a factor as these markets traditionally took the poorer quality finished cattle.
However, the final figures for 1999 showed a welcome improvement in classification grades generally. There was a 5% increase in the number of steers classified as U grades in 1999 and a 6% increase in the number of R grade steers. There was no great change in the number of O grades but P grades fell by 36% from 9.9% to 7.3%. This is a movement in the right direction and I have asked the industry to work together to ensure that the pricing system continue to move towards providing adequate incentives to farmers to produce quality cattle.
My Department, Teagasc and the ICBF are seeking to implement a cattle breeding policy aimed at the production of high quality cattle demanded by the market. This should result in a further improvement in grades in the near future.
Annex
1999 Classification Results
Young Bulls 1999
(Average weight 339kg)
|
E |
U |
R |
O |
P+ |
P |
P |
Total |
|
|
1 |
0.1 |
1.7 |
4.0 |
4.4 |
1.3 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
11.5 |
|
2 |
0.2 |
6.9 |
11.8 |
8.1 |
1.5 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
28.6 |
|
3 |
0.3 |
11.8 |
15.8 |
5.0 |
0.7 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
33.5 |
|
4L |
0.1 |
7.5 |
10.5 |
1.9 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
20.1 |
|
4H |
0.0 |
2.0 |
3.3 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
5.7 |
|
5 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.5 |
|
Total |
0.6 |
30.1 |
45.6 |
19.8 |
3.5 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
100.0 |
|
E |
U |
R |
O |
P+ |
P |
P |
Total |
|
|
1 |
0.5 |
6.2 |
8.8 |
6.6 |
1.8 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
24.2 |
|
2 |
1.0 |
10.2 |
14.3 |
8.6 |
1.2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
35.3 |
|
3 |
0.5 |
6.6 |
8.2 |
3.6 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
19.3 |
|
4L |
0.0 |
4.0 |
4.8 |
1.8 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
10.8 |
|
4H |
0.0 |
3.0 |
2.9 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
6.5 |
|
5 |
0.1 |
1.4 |
2.2 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
3.9 |
|
Total |
2.1 |
31.4 |
41.1 |
21.5 |
3.6 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
100.0 |
|
E |
U |
R |
O |
P+ |
P |
P |
Total |
|
|
1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
0.4 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
0.9 |
|
2 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
0.7 |
1.8 |
1.2 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
3.9 |
|
3 |
0.0 |
0.9 |
5.3 |
9.8 |
3.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
19.1 |
|
4L |
0.0 |
1.8 |
12.3 |
17.4 |
1.9 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
33.4 |
|
4H |
0.0 |
2.3 |
14.0 |
13.3 |
0.6 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
30.3 |
|
5 |
0.0 |
0.8 |
6.6 |
4.9 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
12.4 |
|
Total |
0.0 |
6.0 |
38.9 |
47.5 |
7.3 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
100.0 |
|
E |
U |
R |
O |
P+ |
P |
P |
Total |
|
|
1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
1.7 |
4.6 |
4.1 |
10.6 |
|
2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
1.2 |
5.5 |
3.6 |
0.4 |
10.8 |
|
3 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
3.7 |
8.0 |
0.9 |
0.0 |
12.9 |
|
4L |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.5 |
9.8 |
7.6 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
18.3 |
|
4H |
0.0 |
0.1 |
1.0 |
13.1 |
5.5 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
19.9 |
|
5 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
2.7 |
21.3 |
3.3 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
27.5 |
|
Total |
0.0 |
0.2 |
4.5 |
49.5 |
31.7 |
9.7 |
4.5 |
100.0 |
|
E |
U |
R |
O |
P+ |
P |
P |
Total |
|
|
1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
0.4 |
0.8 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
2.2 |
|
2 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
0.6 |
1.8 |
1.0 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
3.6 |
|
3 |
0.0 |
0.5 |
5.2 |
8.5 |
1.1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
15.2 |
|
4L |
0.0 |
1.0 |
12.6 |
16.1 |
0.8 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
30.5 |
|
4H |
0.0 |
1.1 |
13.8 |
15.5 |
0.7 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
31.3 |
|
5 |
0.0 |
0.4 |
7.3 |
9.2 |
0.3 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
17.2 |
|
Total |
0.0 |
3.1 |
39.5 |
51.5 |
4.7 |
0.9 |
0.2 |
100.0 |
