Beef Plan – Murrin deflecting attention won’t work!
The Beef Plan Movement has recently highlighted attempts to portray Irish beef farmers as hypocrites. Bord Bia Chairperson Larry Murrin has recently stated that Irish beef farmers have no objection to using South American grain in animal feed. This claim has been widely reported across major media outlets. However, we view it as a distraction,…
Larry Murrin – Do As I Say Not As I Do!
As the controversy around Bord Bia and its Chair, Larry Murrin continues, it is very important to recognise the influence that large companies can have on decisions within State bodies and the consequent impacts on the wider communities. The period between 2008 and 2012 was a time when the Queally family, intentionally or not, had…
Bord Bia – Grant Funding Rules Need To Change
Bord Bia’s stated mission is to “drive the commercial success of a world-class Irish food, drink, and horticulture industry through market insight and partnership. Its core purpose is to bring Ireland’s food and drink to the world, enabling the growth and sustainability of producers, and ensuring Irish food is synonymous with quality and sustainability.“ There…
How did Irish MEPs vote on sending Mercosur deal to CJEU?
Today is a historic day for Irish agriculture as the EU Parliament sends the Mercosur Trade deal to the EU Court of Justice for a determination as to whether parts of the deal are in breach of existing treaties. Euractiv reports “At the heart of the dispute lies a mechanism in the deal that would…
Beef Plan at the Athlone Protest
The protest in Athlone on Saturday, 10th January 2026 was a momentous turning point in the long saga that is the Mercosur trade deal. Independent Ireland did a fantastic job in organising all the moving parts flawlessly on the day. Ciaran Mullooly MEP and Michael Fitzmaurice, long time campaigners against the Mercosur deal, received a…
Issue with the Irish Farming Independent’s position on Mercosur
The Beef Plan Movement wishes to voice its profound concern and disappointment regarding recent editorial decisions and articles published by the Irish Farming Independent. At a time when the Irish farming community faces an existential threat from the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, we expect our agricultural media to be a steadfast ally in defending the high…
Beef Plan letter to MEPs ahead of Mercosur Vote
We are approaching a finalised vote on the Mercosur deal and the beef farmers of Ireland are directly in the line of fire in the event that our government supports this deal. The strengthened ‘safeguards’ are a tacit acknowledgement of the inherent threat that the deal poses to farmers in Europe. They do not prevent…
No CAP payments for pensioners?
There is much about the CAP proposals that requires us to think a little more broadly about the incoming shifts, their immediate impact and the wider impacts that affect many, many facets of the challenges that face farming. Farmers are not a homogenous group who will all be impacted by various changes in the same…
BPM cite grave concerns on looming price war
The Beef Plan Movement views the emerging retailer price war on staple foods, initiated by Lidl’s milk price cuts, with grave concern. While portrayed as a win for consumers, this short-term gambit will have long-term consequences, as the financial burden will inevitably be pushed down the chain to primary producers. Many farmers are already operating…
Upcoming SCEP Scheme Weighing & Genotype Deadlines
No sooner have requirements for one programme been met, than another is right around the corner! The next few days see some critical deadlines to be met for the SCEP Scheme: October 31st 2025 – You must have genotyped the 65% of your yearly reference number of eligible females that are 4 or 5 stars…