With approximately 50,000 fewer cattle slaughtered in Ireland for the year to date compared to 2020, weekly requirements at all beef plants are struggling to be met.

This shortfall is expected to continue for the remainder of the year and could reach 100,000 less cattle slaughtered for 2021.

Anyone in the cattle trade will have noticed the prevalence of Northern Irish buyers both for store and factory-fit cattle of all categories. These buyers are always a welcome presence and were sadly missed in recent years.

A few years ago we were led to believe that the days of live exporting cattle from the Republic of Ireland to mainland Britain was finished due to cattle movement restrictions and quality assurance issues.

In recent weeks, these movements have recommenced and have further decreased supply numbers available to Irish beef plants, thus increasing demand.

Fit cattle exported to England for slaughter have received some excellent liveweight prices.

Some farmers who have received slaughter data back from the UK have noted improved conformation grading but a slightly higher fat score.

Perhaps our grading system needs recalibration for our better suckler-bred cattle!

European beef markets are also running very tight and are 2pc behind 2020 supply figures.

The UK remains our largest export market and with the post-Brexit landscape still evolving, it remains to be seen where Britain will source the majority of the beef import requirements.

Cattle slaughter figures in the UK follow and surpass the trend here, with reduced numbers of cattle available for slaughter — as witnessed by the willingness to import live cattle from Ireland.

The reopening of restaurants and food services in Britain in early June had a huge effect on the demand for most beef cuts.

Fast-food restaurants also appear to be booming; this plays a huge role in the demand for beef and the consumption of the lower-value cuts.

The European Championships has significantly boosted demand during BBQ season, with beef sourced from local butchers and large retail multiples.

It may be not be a popular view here, but the further England progress in the tournament, the better it may be for Irish beef farmers!

The domestic beef market has changed significantly during the Covid age.

Previously, 90pc of our beef production was exported, and this figure didn’t vary on a yearly basis. The remaining 10pc of Irish beef was consumed by the domestic market.

Indications show that the figure for the domestic proportion of Irish production is now close to 20pc. People cooking at home and the demand for quality, local beef have driven this increase.

I am hopeful that this trend will continue, with potential for the figure to increase once the country fully reopens.

From speaking with friends from non-farming backgrounds, many have enjoyed cooking with traditional beef cuts they previously did not use.

A former colleague of mine in France informed me that similar situation has occurred there too. They regularly use cuts such as bavette/flank, and where they previously paid €8/kg, prices in excess of €14/kg are now common.

Last week I virtually attended the Alltech ONE conference, and I found the speakers and topics of high relevance and value.

One of the keynote speakers to the global audience was our own David McWilliams. He noted Ireland’s position as major beef producer and said our focus should be on producing more beef, not less.

His perspective was that our input/output ratio was much more favourable than with other beef-producing regions. He argued that as Irish beef can be produced in a more sustainable manner, we shouldn’t reduce the amounts we produce.

You’d hope that policy makers here recognise these factors and instead of looking to reduce our output, give greater coherent support to Irish beef farmer.

Gerry Giggins is an animal nutritionist based in Co Louth