Future of livestock industry in our hands, says NFU

CAP reform, sheep EID and animal transport were just some of the issues high on the agenda when NFU livestock board chairman Alistair Mackintosh met with his counterparts from other farming organisations in the UK and Ireland.

Mr Mackintosh got together with the livestock chairmen from the Ulster Farmers Union, NFU Scotland and the Irish Farmers Association at the meeting in Dublin last week, which was organised to discuss pressing issues facing the livestock industry.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of stronger markets seen this year for beef and sheep meat produced in the UK and Ireland but delegates were only too aware of the increases in costs seen by farmers over the same period and the pressure that farm margins are still under.

Mr Mackintosh said: Our industry is in a positive mood at the moment. It is great that prices are stronger and supply is still tight but we continue to be challenged by high and ever increasing costs. For these reasons, it is important that we have a good result for our farmers from negotiations on the CAP and continuing strong Pillar One support remains an essential element of this.

We will face the same common challenges in the future. The greening of the CAP, animal health challenges and sheep EID all figure prominently on our radars, so it is useful to discuss how these issues are being addressed across the UK and Ireland. Knowing we all share the same concerns means that we can collectively provide a strong lobbying voice during future discussions on these issues.