Importance of Food Chain Value in Ireland

The Nuffield Farm Scholarship program provides an opportunity for its participants to travel across the globe exploring and research several countries agriculture as well as researching a particular project that they see could make a difference in their own country and their own industry. Irish Beef Farmer Aidan Gleeson is a 2015 Nuffield scholar and he shares more about his specific project which is increasing the communication, improving cooperation and good will between the various segments of the Irish beef production food chain.
Gleeson: “That we work together with the processors and the retailers. So that the retailers can feel confident that they are putting forward a high quality product in the market place. That they can point to the farmers and say, ‘Look these guys are at the top of the market, top of their game and producing a fabulous product.’ And that the producer can be proud and standout there and say that the high quality product that they are getting is going through a very high standard of processing and that again the consumer can feel that they are getting the best food, the tasty food, the safest food possible.”
Sound familiar? Too often each of our segments focus only are their piece of the beef production process and don’t stop and examine what will be best the industry as a whole
Gleeson: “What we need now make sure that they are producing the right animal for the marketplace. That they are getting the best return from the marketplace to allow them to continue to do that. And basically that all the stakeholders — be it the farmers, the producers, the retailers, that they all are getting a fair share of the market place.”