The chairperson of the ICMSA Livestock Committee, Michael O’Connell, has criticised the ‘eligible cow’ criteria of the Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme and he especially noted the exclusion of the Fleckvieh and Montbeliarde breed calves, describing their exclusion as ridiculous.
Mr O’Connell said that the development of this potentially ‘game-changing’ sector was being hampered by a ‘top-down’ confusion on the point and focus of the scheme.
“The terms and conditions highlight breeds under two classes: Dairy and Beef, but the forementioned breeds are not included in either.
“We are in a position currently where we are promoting the use of sexed semen to produce the required amount of dairy replacement heifers, the use of DBI and CBV to increase the beef suitability of calves from the dairy herd, and a huge emphasis on producing a calf that is ‘fit for purpose’. But farmers using ‘dual purpose’ breeds such as Fleckvieh and Montbeliarde are being excluded because they are not classified as a dairy breed in the eligible cow criteria of the Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme,” said Mr O’Connell.
“These breeds are producing a calf that have all the attributes required in the beef and dairy industry. The calf being produced by these cows has the ability to meet carcass requirements as set out by processors in terms of carcass conformation and carcass weight. The omission of these breeds is ridiculous and needs to be revisited so that we see these good quality calves that these breeds produce with the selection of a suitable bull or AI straw be included,” said Mr O’Connell.
The ICMSA Livestock Committee chairperson said that the Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme is about supporting the production of better-quality beef animals and the Fleckvieh and Montbeliarde breeds could make a very important contribution to this objective.
“ICMSA is calling on the Minister to re-evaluate these criteria as it is completely inaccurate and unjustified and immediately include both breeds as ‘eligible’ under the Dairy Beef Scheme,” he concluded.
