Farmers continue protests with blockade at Musgraves in Kildare
Farmers are continuing their campaign for higher beef prices with a protest in Kildare this morning.
The Irish Farmers' Association has blockaded the Musgraves Central Distribution Centre in Kilcock.
It follows a similar demonstration in Dublin yesterday, as well as two in Cork and Kildare last week.
IFA President Joe Healy says beef farmers should not accept the current beef price on offer from the factories.
Mr Healy said: "[The] very clear message to the retailers is, they're part of a very dysfunctional chain that's not passing back a viable margin to the beef farmers.
"And we want the retailers to get a clear message to the beef processors, that a significant price increase has to happen and happen immediately."
John Coughlan, who is Munster Regional Chairman of the IFA, has said farmers deserve better.
"Every euro that goes into farming in rural Ireland contributes €4.30 to the local economy," he said.
"That is critically important to rural Ireland. Our beef exports have increased 64% in the last nine years.
"That's on the back of the green, clean image that we Irish farmers produce beef under.
"There are 75,000 beef farmers in Ireland. A third of them earn less than €8,000 a year."
