Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 December 2020
483. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of cattle slaughtered from tuberculosis programme defined feedlot herds in each of the years 2014 to 2019 and to date in 2020; if beef produced from feedlots can be included under the proposed PGI application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42719/20]
View answer484. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the weekly breakdown of the number of cattle slaughtered from tuberculosis programme defined feedlot herds in each week of 2019 and to date in 2020 in tabular form; the weekly feedlot kill as a percentage of the total weekly beef kill in each week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42720/20]
View answerI 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
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.
* 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
