Would LMC be in Favour of Such A Development?
LMC would support the type of development described and would comment that we have already lent support to groups operating within Northern Ireland which, although much smaller than that suggested in your letter, are seeking to enhance the return to producers through concentration on the quality of animal produced. LMC is already involved with such a group under the Quality Beef Initiative, a partnership involving DARD Agri-food Development Service (Farm Technology & Business Systems Development Division). The group, under the name Quality Beef Northern Ireland (QBNI), is an amalgam of three local area initiatives and community groups in the north-west. It is co-ordinated by DARD Beef Development advisors and technologists, with LMC offering support and market awareness advice. The current membership is 85 beef producers finishing approximately 1,000 cattle per year. Its objectives are more market-focussed than earlier producer groups and it has contacted some of these earlier groups (
