A scheme which would see beef farmers receiving additional subsidies for producing the kind of cattle demanded by the market has been suggested to the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr Walsh by the Irish meat factories.
Mr John Smith, the chief executive of the Irish Meat Association which represents the meat factories, said yesterday it had written to the Minister asking him to use monies from the National Envelope to reward quality producers.
He was commenting on the Minister's remarks on Monday when he said the days of producing and processing beef without any eye to the eventual market destination were over and if the market demanded a particular quality or age, that is what should be produced.
"We have already written asking him to use some of the €31 million available in the National Envelope which can only be paid to farmers in 2003, to those farmers who produce the kind of animals needed in the markets," he said.
He said this reward for quality would enhance the returns from the markets which set the cattle prices.