FOREBODING, uncertainty and apprehension summed up the mood in Cork and Tipperary yesterday among beef farmers who still do not know what the effect of the Russian ban on exports of beef from the two Munster counties will be.
But surprisingly, cattle marts at Mallow and Midleton, Co Cork, as well as Roscrea, in Co Tipperary, reported that prices had held and that business was brisk.
In Mallow, some 1,800 animals were offered at the biggest sale of the year yesterday. "Nothing dramatic happened, we had a huge sale and while prices might have been marginally down, I couldn't say that the market was depressed. Nobody was unhappy. Really, the BSE issue hasn't affected us at all," Mr Donal Buckley, a spokesmen for the mart, said.
Mr David Keane, of Midleton Mart, in east Cork, where there was a throughput of 600 animals last Thursday, said that the BSE scare was not reflected on the sales floor. "Trade was normal prices were good and there was no drop-off in interest. I would say it was business as usual," he added.
At Roscrea Mart, Mr Jack Hannon was also of the opinion that the BSE crisis had "no effect whatsoever" on trade. "We had a huge sale here today of almost 1,000 animals, there was no change in prices as against last week, and I certainly cannot say that the market was depressed. This BSE thing has had very little effect."
Butchers too were more buoyant than might have been expected after the Russian ban on beef from the two Monster counties. Mr Sylvester Murray of Premier Meats in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, said that while there had been a drop in sales of more than 5 per cent, the introduction of a quality assurance scheme, proving the pedigree and history of all meat products on sale, would do much to allay public fears.
"To my knowledge, BSE occurs in animals over four or five years old. No reputable butcher is selling beef more than two years old. Even before the BSE scare, red meat sales had declined because eating habits had changed.
"I'm not happy with the way Ivan Yates has been treated, even though Tipperary is one of the three counties affected by this ban. I think it was better to lose three counties temporarily than to lose the whole country. The public can now be assured that beef is never safer to eat and I think we will get over this."
One of Cork's leading butchers, Mr Liam Bresnan, said that "surprisingly" business was holding up, despite the Russian ban on Cork meat. "I was very nervous last Wednesday coming into work after the latest announcement, but things are OK."
Some meat factories yesterday were unwilling to become embroiled in the BSE issue.
A spokesman for the Goodman company said he had nothing to add to the BSE debate, although there was concern within the industry.
In Agra Meats, of Watergrass Hill, Co Cork, no spokesman was available to discuss the BSE issue.
At Galtee Meats, in Charleville, Co Cork, Mr Colm O'Keeffe, the general manager, said the Russian decision to ban beef exports from Cork and Tipperary had not affected trade.
However, on the farms of Cork and Tipperary, there was a different mood yesterday.
Mr Denis O'Riordan, an extensive farmer in the Waterfall area of Co Cork, said that the BSE crisis had produced serious uncertainty within the farming community. Prices had also fallen and an animal that could make only £360 this year would have made £500 last year.
"People in farming are very worried, and I know of one farmer with a young family who bought in cattle at dear prices last year and had to sell at a loss of £25,000 this year because of the lack of demand."
Another farmer, Mr John Joe Kelleher, of Terelton, near Macroom, Co Cork, who farms 100 acres, said that prices were down by up to £180 a head for cattle as against this time last year.
There was deep concern within the farming community, and while farming was a cyclical business, farmers were worried that the BSE scare would do serious damage, he added.
Mr Kevin Brennan, who farms on the borders between Cork and Offaly, said that his 180-acre holding was experiencing the effects of the BSE scare because the price of his animals had dropped.
"The question for the Minister is how long is this restriction on our counties going to continue? Morale is not too low just now, but with this terrible uncertainty, we don't know what is going to happen and neither can the meat factories tell us which way they are going to go. I have been in touch with several factories today and they cannot answer questions about my concerns," he said.