Farmer Focus: Beef price puts housing plans on hold

For those who still care, agricultural minister Michelle O’Neil has finally announced the new CAP details for NI, writes Sam Chesney. 

The basic payment will move to a single region over a seven-year transition period. It isn’t as good as I had hoped, but also not nearly as bad as it could have been. At least farmers have time to adjust, but what this has done overnight is make hill ground in NI as valuable as 4t/acre wheat (grade 1) land.

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From an investment point of view, however, we will all breathe a slight sigh of relief tonight.

McDonald’s celebrated 40 years in NI and lucky old me was invited to the Stormont reception with Sir Jeff Hurst and Pat Jennings. It was a lovely evening.

On the farm it has been a month of breeding. Heifers were artificially inseminated (AI’d) and then we synchronised 70 cows and AI’d these on 19 June, all to high-figured bulls with good calving ease and maternal figures. It’s time the beef industry started chasing the progress of the chicken industry or we will not be able to compete.

Yesterday, a young farmer from Colorado said their system was far more streamlined. All cows are AI’d and all calves implanted with a growth hormone. They have feed lots, no slurry storage, and, if you’re below 1,000 cattle you can pretty much do as you please. No ear tags either.

Plans for a new beef house have been shelved due to the constant downward trend of prices, which has hit everyone hard. First of the bulls were back £360 on the year. This is galling as supermarket red meat profits are up.

My daughter Lauren has moved to Hampshire to start her placement year with the Westpoint Vet Group. So, if you come across her say hi.

Nearly done, but the icing on the cake, or should I say sparkle on the finger, was that Sinead and I got engaged. So, a new chapter opens.

Sam Chesney runs a spring-calving herd of 120 Limousin cross sucklers in Kircubbin, Northern Ireland. He was 2011 Farmers Weekly Beef Farmer of the Year