Irish Hereford Prime and ABP Announce New Breed Bonus Structure Worth Up to 20c/kg

Irish Hereford Prime and ABP Announce New Breed Bonus Structure

Worth Up to 20c/kg

The Irish Hereford Prime beef producer group has announced a new breed bonus payment structure with ABP Ireland, that will come into effect from September of this year.

The long-established qualification criteria for an Irish Hereford Prime breed bonus payment will remain in place and will continue to deliver a standard bonus of 10c/kg at all ABP and Kepak sites. However, an additional bonus of up to 10c/kg will be available from ABP to producer group members when they meet specific new sustainability and animal genetics requirements. This will mean that under the new system in ABP, members will be eligible for a total breed bonus of up to 20c/kg on qualifying Hereford animals.

ABP Agri Sustainability Manager Stephen Connolly said:

“The results from the trial work on the ABP demo farm over the last ten years have demonstrated to us the value of using the best Hereford genetics and the difference that it can make to a farms overall performance”.

When asked what farmer members need to do to achieve these new bonus payments, Irish Hereford Prime said:

“The new sustainability bonus pillar is set to be applied on a whole farm basis while the new genetics bonus pillar is set to be applied on an individual animal basis”.

Enhanced Bonus Structure

The new bonus structure is built around three elements:

€0.10/kg standard bonus
€0.05/kg sustainability bonus
€0.05/kg genetics bonus

This provides a total potential bonus of up to €0.20/kg on qualifying Hereford animals supplied to ABP.

1. Standard Bonus

The established standard Irish Hereford Prime breed bonus of 10c/kg will continue to remain available from all ABP Food Group and all Kepak sites.

The following criteria are unchanged:

Farms being SBLAS approved
Steers or Heifers only
HE or HEX on the animal passport
A maximum of four farm residencies
Animals resident on quality-assured farms for at least 70 days, including a minimum of 60 days on the presenting farm prior to slaughter
Carcass weight between 240–380kg
Conformation of O= or better
Fat score from 2+ to 4+

2. Supporting Sustainability on Irish Farms

In order to receive an additional sustainability payment of 5c/kg on every Hereford-bred animal sent to ABP, farmer members will need to sign up online to the free digital sustainability platform AgNav and develop a farm plan by selecting three voluntary actions to receive this additional payment. The completion of these three actions must be demonstrated by the end of 2029.

The sustainability bonus received by using the AgNav platform will see Irish Hereford Prime members incentivised to create a farm sustainability plan and to adopt technologies to further improve their management practices at farm level. Examples of possible measures that farmers can decide to undertake on their farms include:

the use of protected urea,
liming,
incorporating clover,
reducing chemical nitrogen,
low emission slurry spreading.

The AgNav platform has been created through a partnership between Teagasc, Bord Bia and the ICBF, and is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

3. Driving Genetic Improvement

In relation to the genetics pillar, farmer members of Irish Hereford Prime will be paid an additional payment of 5c/kg on qualifying in-spec Hereford cattle from September 2026 when the animal they bring forward for slaughter has had its sire recorded or is genotyped.

From 2028, an individual animal must have a Commercial Beef Value (CBV) on the ICBF index of €100 or more at any evaluation during its lifetime. In 2029, the CBV must be verified through genotyping only. This CBV value will be reviewed and possibly adjusted on an annual basis.

Niall O’Mahony, Chair of Irish Hereford Prime, said:

“the producer group wishes to encourage its farmer members to use better, more profitable Hereford genetics in their farming systems, and to also measure and improve the environmental and financial sustainability of their farms”.

CBV is regarded by ICBF as a profitability index. Regardless of a farmer’s system, CBV has been shown to work successfully at farm level. Whether it is in relation to calf price, store price or finished animal value, five-star CBV animals have been proven on average to perform better than one-star CBV animals in real terms, with more euros returned to the farmer.

The effects of CBV can be seen in the statistics for Hereford steers slaughtered in 2025. When comparing five star CBV animals to one star CBV animals, a difference in the prices achieved at all stages of the Hereford animals life was noticed. This was seen through a difference of €65 in calf price, a €90 gap in weanling price and a €140 difference in store price. Finally, a reduction in feed costs for five star Hereford animals was evident due to a shortening of the finishing period by 24 days, while at the same time the five star Hereford steers produced 18kg heavier carcass than their one star equivalent, leaving €169 extra profit on an individual animal basis.

Meeting Customer Expectations

Irish Hereford Prime has indicated that the loyal customers for their beef are demanding a consistent and premium product with environmental credentials to match. The development of a new structure for bonus payments to guarantee its farmer members up to 20c/kg is seen by the producer group as being necessary to future proof the evolving requirements of its customers.

Commitment to Farmers

The revised structure underlines Irish Hereford Prime’s commitment to maintaining a strong and reliable breed bonus, supporting on-farm sustainability improvements, encouraging the use of better-performing genetics, and ensuring members are well positioned to meet changing market requirements for premium, sustainably produced beef. This new structure is intended to reward farmer performance while strengthening the Hereford brand into the future.

The team in Irish Hereford Prime is available to discuss and assist with the various elements of the bonus restructuring that is taking place with ABP.