Irish Hereford Prime and ABP Food Group have announced details of the new Hereford breed bonus structure that will be worth up to 20c/kg on all eligible cattle.

Beef producer group Irish Hereford Prime confirmed to Agriland that the new breed bonus payment structure with ABP Ireland will come into effect from September of this year.

The standard Irish Hereford Prime breed bonus payment will remain in place and will continue to deliver a breed bonus of 10c/kg at all ABP and Kepak sites.

However, an additional breed bonus of up to 10c/kg will be available at ABP outlets to producer group members when they meet specific new sustainability and animal genetics requirements.

This means that under the new system at ABP, members will be eligible for a total breed bonus of up to 20c/kg on qualifying Hereford animals.

Commenting on the restructuring of the breed bonus, ABP's agri sustainability manager Stephen Connolly said: "The results from the trial work on the ABP Demo Farm over the last 10 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”.

Criteria for the higher 20c/kg breed bonus

A statement from Irish Hereford Prime explained: “The new sustainability bonus pillar will be applied on a whole-farm basis while the new genetics bonus pillar is set to be applied on an individual animal basis."

Structure of new Irish Hereford Prime breed bonus:

Standard Hereford breed bonus of 10c/kg will remain available at both ABP and Kepak sites;
Additional 5c/kg sustainability payment available at ABP sites;
Additional 5c/kg genetics payment available at ABP sites.

In order to receive an additional sustainability payment of 5c/kg on every Hereford animal they send 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.

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.

Irish Hereford Prime

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."

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.

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.

Key points for farmers

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

The following criteria remains unchanged:

Farms being SBLAS approved;
'HE' or 'HEX; on the animal passport;
Steers and heifers only;
A maximum of four farm residencies.
Animals must be resident on quality-assured farms for at least 70 days, including a minimum of 60 days on the presenting farm prior to slaughter.
Eligible carcass weights are from 240-380kg with carcass conformation of 'O=' or above and a fat score between '2+' and '4+'

Irish Hereford Prime said that the impact of the Commercial Beef Value (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."

The key differences in high and low CBV Hereford and Hereford-cross cattle according to Irish Hereford Prime is:

A difference of €65 in calf price;
A €90 gap in weanling price
A €140 difference in store price.
A reduction in feed costs for five star Hereford animals was evident due to a shortening of the finishing period by 24 days;
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.

Irish Hereford Prime was established in 1997 to market Hereford beef as a premium brand synonymous with quality and sustainability.

It describes itself as "Europe’s largest and oldest Hereford producer group" and has members across Ireland.

Irish Hereford Prime beef is distributed to restaurants and hotels by Sysco Ireland, and is available as part of the SuperValu Signature Tastes and Centra Inspired By ranges.