Lobbying continues for COVID-19 beef and lamb support

The UFU said beef and lamb farmers have taken a serious financial hit due to the pandemic and lobbying efforts are ongoing to ensure they get appropriate support.

The Union worked closely with red meat stakeholders to create an evidence-based case to help secure funding worth £13.2m for the beef sector and £270,000 for the lamb sector. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Minister Edwin Poots, and the Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (AERA) Committee, have now received the evidence to support this request and the UFU await their response.

UFU beef and lamb chairman Sam Chesney said: “The UFU beef and lamb committee fully support the announcement by the DAERA Minister, that the agri-food COVID-19 funding must be allocated to those farmers who have suffered the greatest losses. Beef and sheep farmers are all too aware of financial struggles and the volatility of farmgate prices especially when weighed against input costs. It is something they have been enduring for a few years.

“We were expecting beef and lamb prices to rise this year and it would have been long overdue but then COVID-19 struck. The pandemic has only added to the pressure beef and sheep producers were already under, struggling with falling farmgate prices and rising input costs. However, Minister Poots has recognised this. He has shown great efforts working on behalf of our beef and sheep producers to secure financial aid for the sectors. We are moving in the right direction and now we need to ensure we receive a suitable sum so that all beef and sheep farmers can benefit.”

The beef sector was first hit by the pandemic in late December when the Chinese market went into lockdown followed by the EU market. The wool sector also remains in turmoil due to trade disruptions. The UFU is working closely with Ulster Wool and British Wool, to address the matter.

“Beef and lamb producers have been getting it from all angles as COVID-19 hit the key financial avenues that farmers depend upon for income. However, they continue to do their part during this COVID-19 pandemic, producing high-quality local products for consumers, adhering to some of the highest environmental and animal standards in the world. They deserve to receive the necessary support to sustain their family-run farm businesses. In turn, this will help safeguard Northern Ireland’s beef and lamb sectors in entirety, to make sure we come out the other side of this pandemic in a stable position alongside the other agri sectors,” said the UFU beef and lamb chairman.