Farmers percentage of consumer price

Siamsa Sessions · 27-06-2022 01:37PM #1

Hi all,

Part out of interest, part out of necessity for an off-farm project, I gathered a few figures on beef and milk price since 2014-15. See the images attached.

For milk, farmers got between 28% and 37% of the final consumer price from 2014 to 2020. This is based on 1 litre of low-fat milk, and the figures are from the National Milk Agency.

For beef, farmers got between 37% and 45% of the final consumer price from 2015 to 2021. This is based on 1kg of round beef and the average price for an R3 steer. The figures are from Bord Bia and 'Numbeo: Historical Data about Cost of Living by Year in Ireland'.

Do these stats seem about right?

magicbastarder · 27-06-2022 01:43PM

how did you calculate how much the farmer charged for that specific cut?

i.e. i would assume a farmer would sell the animal, and then the retailer decides what to charge for each cut? or was it a simple '1kg is 0.25% of the usable weight of the carcass' calculation?

Siamsa Sessions · 27-06-2022 01:56PM

Every figure is a published average and I've made general assumptions - no more, no less.

I looked at the price of 1kg of 'round beef' and then compared against the average price per kg the farmer received that year for an R3 steer. The figures to break this down further aren't there. Obviously T-bone would be different to low-grade mince. And there's the factories grid to consider as well, but again there are no figures readily available.

It's not going to be exact. All I'm trying to do is get a rough percentage.

And I'm very open to trying different calculations. This is about the method and it being transparent for consumers, as much as arriving at a final percentage.

Hard Knocks · 27-06-2022 02:37PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119257445#Comment_119257445

Super job, well done

Lano Lynn · 28-06-2022 08:01PM

good luck with that, educating consumers.

Listening to twats on talk radio whinging about 'hyperinflation' and how they had to que to get their flight out for their third holiday .I used to think people were ignorant but the more I see and hear I just have to conclude they are stupid and above all selfish.

poor quality journalism has a lot to answer for.

your litre of low fat milk has had a portion of cream skimmed off to be sold seperately ,

beef is way more complex the fifth quarter is a very lucrative comodity , beef cheek ,for fancy chefs, lights and bones for pet food ,hides, casings, fat all have value and a complex market way beyond the understanding of the average consumer with a masters degree in bullshit!

wrangler · 29-06-2022 09:19AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119263957#Comment_119263957

When I was in IFA sheep commitee the only declared amarket price was rungis and Irish lamb was always priced roughly at what farmers were being paid in Ireland at the time so we always took it that the fifth quarter paid the factories operating costs, we were always aware of course that rungis market was a dumping ground for excess lamb and discounted price. Talking to Irish lorry drivers in france they'd tell us they'd distribute the ICM lamb in many different outlets.

Our group went to the ICM factory in belgium where they process lamb for a premium market, Our names were on the carcases so our lads were disgusted to see their 24 and 25 kg carcases in Belgium supplying a premium market under the brand name Celtic Lamb. I guarantee you they came home with a new resolve to weigh more regularily.

Just a heads up for everyone, there's going to be good subsidies for producer groups for three years now of €10000/yr plus €3000 to start a new group

Siamsa Sessions · 29-06-2022 10:02AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119263957#Comment_119263957

I'm not trying to educate consumers or anyone else.

Farmers complain that people don't care where their food comes from but then we do nothing to get information to them. Supermarkets have a free run to educate people that food is cheap!

I don't expect much of a change if consumers know how much of any food product goes back to the farmer. All I'm saying is gather the information and put it in front of the consumer. Let them decide then. At the moment, it's too easy to believe the supermarkets' BS.

We all complain about processors and supermarkets taking more than their share. I assume they do. But we have very little information to see just how much they are taking. My simple hope is that shining some light on the figures and percentages can only help and maybe get it on someone's agenda. I doubt the IFA will do anything (I'm a member. For now.) but I'll keep throwing it out there for a while and see if anyone else might pick it up.

wrangler · 29-06-2022 10:23AM

Didn't IFA commision Jim Power to find wher the money goes and got nowhere, I could've saved them the cost...... there wasn't a hope.

Tbf dairy farmers have a huge problem disclosing profits and costs to teagasc for publication, processors are no different,

https://www.ifa.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Jim-Power-Beef-Report-2020.pdf,

If that 100page document does anything it refutes all the off the wall stuff that farmers allege....... someone on my side at last

Siamsa Sessions · 29-06-2022 10:51AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119266099#Comment_119266099

Thanks for the link. I didn't even realised that report was ever published. Or if I did see it, it obviously made no impact!

Half my thinking on publishing percentages and transparency is that it might stop some of the more wild claims from some farmers that it's all a conspiracy and lizard-kings are running the world. I don't think processors or retailers are playing even close to fair, but the really wild shouting and claims only undermine the genuine ones.

Bass Reeves · 09-07-2025 10:19PM

The reality is the deck is stacked against the beef farmer. Recently talking to a farmer ( we will call him.Tom) that interacted with the meat regulator. @Siamsa Sessions you.posted a Tictok video of the interaction between Paul Lawless and I think the head of the Meat Regulator. After talking to Tom I could ooly feel sorry for her and I showed him the video to Tom and he felt sorry for her as well.

The MR is just another entity designed to fail when dealing with beef processors. It was castrated before it ever existed. Basically it's can do nothing unless there is a written contract in place.

Here is a few details Tom found out. Most individual meat plants are considered separate businesses and have to be recognised as such. They are allowed to have no poaching agreements and there is nothing the MR can do about it. Individual factories can refuse to quote individual farmers and put obstacles such as booking in etc. They can under quote farmers from certain areas to force them to sell to a sister factory or to even not compete against a competitor, who in turn can return the favour.

Too many are obsessed with price difference and margin by retailers and processors. The reason they have this level of margin is because they are allowed to carry on with cartel type behaviour that would not be tolerated in any other industry. The MR can really only interact with you if you have a written contract and if the processors fail to honour that contract.

Tom also mentioned that after the beef strike there was an agreement that processors were supposed to offer a live weighting service to farmers of cattle being supplied to them. This is not available in any meat factory he or I are aware of. Tom is of the opinion this should be available at intake in meat plants. You could compare there live weight with your own on farm weights. Tom says there is messing with weights in one factory he sold to recently after he bargained for a good price.

The MR says that farmers should insist on a price contract beef supply. Tom says he told them this would never happen unless the legal oneus was on the processors to do that as well he indicated to them if processors are booking in cattle for 2-3 weeks in advance the onus should be on the processors to provide a quote on booking them in.

However Tom said all this was immaterial unless individual processing plants are forced to provide there weekly quotes to the MR and the MR can compare these to prices paid on factory returns to DFAM which happens every week.

He said the person he was dealing with was very interested in his information but his hand were tied by the legislation under which the MR,was set up under.

Farmers percentage of consumer price

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