AGRICULTURE minister Brendan Smith must move quickly to halt the decline in the national suckler cow herd, according to IFA national livestock committee chairman Michael Doran.
Speaking at the National Livestock Show in Tullamore recently, Mr Doran said urgent action was needed in order to achieve the beef and livestock growth targets of 20%, or €300 million a year, set out in the 2020 Food Harvest Report.
Mr Doran said that due to the lack of profitability in the livestock sector at farm level, the suckler cow herd was under severe pressure and had fallen by 150,000 head from its peak in 2005.