Catherina Cunnane

5 days ago | independent.ie | Catherina Cunnane

Farmers to face jail and fines of up to €300,000 for not declaring vet meds withdrawal period info Department’s new law is aimed at keeping meds residues out of meat factories Eight bovine carcases were found with veterinary medicinal residues in meat factories last year, according to the Department of Agriculture Cattle sellers will soon face tough penalties – including fines of up to €300,000 and/or jail for up to two years – if they don’t inform buyers that an animal is still within a...

5 days ago | independent.ie | Catherina Cunnane

Lucy Tottenham explains why she converted to organic, why she sold her entire flock and switched to EasyCares, and why she opts for continuous-cover forestry – where The Vikings was filmedWhen Lucy Tottenham’s husband Geoffry died in 2013, she was faced with a choice: “give up and rent out the farm or take it on myself”. She chose the latter and transformed Cloragh Farm in Ashford, Co Wicklow, into a fully certified organic flock of 400 EasyCare breeding ewes, along with a further 150 ewe lambs.

1 week ago | independent.ie | Catherina Cunnane

After Leah Cull lost her father and brother to suicide, she returned home from Australia, faced with the difficult choice of selling the family sheep farm or learning how to run it. She explains how farm life has helped her mental health, and why she has become a Sinn Féin councillor and trainee psychotherapistAfter losing both her father and brother to suicide within five years, Leah Cull returned home from Australia to north Roscommon in 2020 to save her family farm.

1 week ago | independent.ie | Catherina Cunnane

Outlook for beef remains positive as scarcity puts a floor in trade – Kepak farm managerRising prices ‘will probably influence people to stay at suckler farming’The Kepak yard has capacity for 1,500 animals at any one time. Photo: Mark CondrenThe outlook for beef “looks positive” with no immediate signs of a price downturn, according to Sam Myles, farm manager at Kepak Farm, which finishes 5,000 cattle a year.

1 week ago | independent.ie | Catherina Cunnane

How supermarket packaging is shaping beef carcass weightsKepak director says an R+ or R-3= is ‘a good performing animal’ and the ideal fat cover is a 3+ or 4+Kepak Farm in Co Meath buys 100-120 cattle per week and finishes 5,000 cattle annuallyKepak’s retail focus within Ireland and the UK is directly influencing carcass selection as it needs to ensure striploin cuts fit neatly into specific-sized packaging trays.