Award-winning Twenty20 Beef Club enhances pricing structure to benefit Kilkenny farmers

The innovative Twenty20 Beef Club calf-to-beef programme has unveiled a new and enhanced pricing structure with increased club premium and breed bonus payments for new and existing members.

In addition, the weight bands for eligible cattle have been significantly widened to offer more farmers the opportunity to take part in the sustainable programme that offers Club Members access to valuable market outlets.

Benefits
Members will benefit from a new weight range of 260-400kg, market-leading breed bonuses for Hereford and Aberdeen Angus, as well as a new Continental breed bonus. The enhancements are expected to earn Club Members an average of €100 to €200 above the market price. The payments are linked to the investment farmers are making in improved genetics in beef breeding and producing in-spec cattle.

The pioneering and award-winning supplier programme, a collaboration between Tirlán and Kepak Group, has been growing year on year and rewards farmers for adhering to specific production protocols. Also included in the new bonus payments is an increased Tirlán input bonus of 10c/kg (up from 5c/kg) for purchasing inputs as part of the fully traceable supply chain system.

For Club Members, Seán Molloy, Tirlán’s Chief Ingredients & Agri Officer, said: “The significant enhancements applied to the Twenty20 Beef Club are a positive endorsement of the success of this club and will ensure it continues to grow and provide value to Tirlán farms.

“This Club is anchored in the market, leveraging technology and science as well as world-leading environmental standards. It continues to provide a premium market for a premium product with world-leading welfare, traceability, and provenance standards. The increase in the Tirlán input bonus to 10c/kg is a clear indication of our commitment to this sustainable production model.”

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Denis Daly and his son, Seán, farm in Timahoe, Co Laois. Together, they milk 125 cows, keep all of their calves and buy in a few as well.
It’s their fourth year as members of the Twenty20 Beef Club.

‘No brainer’
“I would highly recommend the Twenty20 Beef Club calf to beef system,” Seán Daly said. “It’s a no brainer, especially with all the new benefits coming in. It will be a big help to the Club.”

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Denis said: “For every load of cattle that we send to the factory, those bonuses were coming to €1,600 a load. But with the new bonuses and changes that will be coming to over €2,000 a load now.”
The programme is now open for new members up to the end of June 2023 and is also now open to farmers producing young bulls.

Club members continue to deliver a 20+% reduction in their carbon footprint from best farming practice and it remains a valuable market outlet for its co-op members’ dairy and beef calves.