Watch: Scallan voices concerns about calf trade this spring
One of Ireland’s leading calf traders has warned he is “very much afraid” for the calf trade as peak spring calving gets underway.
Seamus Scallan of Wicklow Calf Company spoke to Agriland today (Friday, January 30) about his concerns over the calf trade situation.
In an interview with Agriland Scallan said he believes the biggest problem relates to countries that currently can not take the calves from Ireland.
Scallan was speaking following confirmation that the bluetongue virus has been detected in four herds in Co Wexford.
The confirmation of bluetongue in Ireland has impacted the trade of live cattle to other countries because it has led to additional costs and requirements for exporters.
Ireland's two main export markets for calves are the Netherlands and Spain - there are currently no additional requirements for trading Irish calves to these destinations.
However, 26,000 calves were traded from Ireland to Poland in 2025 and the conditions for Irish calves to access this market is currently more challenging.
Scallan told Agriland: "It's like any business, if you have a mart and you have two people in the mart buying all the calves, there's no competition.
"If you've 10 guys buying the calves in the mart, there's competition in the mart.
"So what we're going to have now - there's only going to be a certain amount of countries going to be able to take the calves so this is not good for the whole industry I see here at the moment."
Scallan said despite being just days away from the main season for the Irish calf trade kicking off, his business is still awating clarity on several issues from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
He expects that "bluetongue is going to have a big impact" and added that "I am very much afraid".
DAFM
Scallan said that the country's main calf buyers are in consultation with DAFM and he is hopeful that the situation will become clearer next week.
He said that his business needs to know where it stands sooner, rather than later - "the calving season is on us now and the numbers are going to be there".
"We need to know very quickly. We're waiting to see before we make any decisions on what angle we're going to take.
"We're going to see what the department is going to say next week," he added.
According to Scallan it has been five weeks since his trucks were last on the continent due to storms on the sea and boats not sailing.
"There's an awful backup in the whole of Ireland, with all the weanlings just hanging around at the moment, we've 10 trucks of weanlings [waiting] to go out, sitting in our sitting in our yards here."
"The issue is going to come in two weeks time, on [February] 15, when the calves are all on the ground and start coming out to the market, and no one knows really what's going to happen or where we're going to go."
"I'm not going to start scaremongering about about pricing or things like this. The market is going to dictate the price. The continent will dictate the price in Ireland, what they're going to give.
"When you haven't enough people in the marketplace and people, who's in in the driving seat to buy the calves on the continent, they will tell you what price they're going to pay for the calves," he added.
Scallan is hoping there will be clearer direction on the situation next week.
"I'm having a meeting with a group of calf-men next week myself, to find out where we see this is going and what is the problem for us guys down the line, and after that, we will have our own conclusions about everything.
"Then we will be speaking to the department," he added.
Polish calf buyer
A EuroChilante representative, which is a Polish farm business, also told Agriland today that it is seeking to sign a contract for 25,000 Irish calves.
He said that the current regulations are "actually a big problem" and there is "big trouble with bluetongue disease".
According to this representative, they are still trying to find solutions on how to export calves from Ireland to Poland.
He said that last year, the business bought approximately 15,000 Irish calves and has returned to Ireland this year to sign a contract for 25,000 Irish calves.
He said that the perception in Poland is that Irish calves are "good quality, good price" and that their "farmers are happy with the Irish calves".
According to DAFM calves under 90 days old must meet one of the following two requirements to be eligible for export to Poland:
- Come from vaccinated dams: prior to service, or at least 28 days prior to their birth; and the dam remains at the time of parturition within the immunity period guaranteed in the specifications of the vaccine.
- Or calves have been protected from vector attacks by insecticides or repellents for at least 14 days prior to the date of movement and they have been subjected during that period to a PCR test, with negative results, carried out on samples collected at least 14 days after the onset of the protection against vector attacks.
The EuroChilante representative said that "we are looking how to find the solution" and explained that the current proposals are not workable.
He said: "We are looking for a solution on how to do it faster because this company [Wicklow Calf Company], they can't hold calves for 14 days. It's impossible. You will get a lot of problems."
He suggested that if the source farms for the calves implement the requirements and a PCR test is taken to ensure the calves are bluetongue free "then we can export normally".
