Some farmers who "aged" their male cattle in 1999 by registering them as older than they were to collect premiums early now find themselves losing up to £80 per animal.
Sources in the industry said yesterday a number of farmers had been caught out because an EU rule that animals over 30 months must face a BSE test on slaughter had devalued the older animals. The 30-month test was introduced as a food-safety measure because so few animals under that age in Europe had contracted Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy.
The rule has created a two-tier price for cattle - and an early rush to the meat plants to sell animals before they cross the 30-month deadline, making them less marketable.
Although both the Department of Agriculture and the Irish meat plants said yesterday they were unaware of the problem, veterinary sources said animals clearly younger than the age on their documents were turning up on "a daily basis".
One estimate put the number of such animals killed at one major plant last week as high as 10 per cent of the over-30month bullock kill. There is no appeal system and farmers have had to stomach their losses.
"Farmers who thought they were being smart in 1999 are now being hammered because even though their animals are under 30 months old, their documents say they are over 30 months of age," said one source.
Another source said bullocks which would not normally be coming onto the market until autumn are being presented for sale now and this had led to a glut of animals which had depressed the market even for the younger animals.
An Bord Bia said the weekly kill at export meat plants for the week ending July 21st was more than 20 per cent higher than the previous week, with more than 30,000 head processed.
Of the total, 3,600 more bullocks were sold for slaughter than in the previous week. This has led to the farm organisations advising members not to flood the market. Mr John Smith, director of the Irish Meat Association, which represents meat factories, said prices were slipping because the major markets had not reopened after the BSE crisis.
"Any demand there is for beef is for animals under 30 months old and that is what is happening. I cannot say if there is a two-tier system or not developing. The market dictates these things," he said.
Mr Smith said he was unaware of any problem with animals' birth dates being wrongly declared by farmers. The Department said it was keeping a close check on the age of animals at plants and was unaware of any problems.
However, there was some good news for the industry when it emerged that Britain will have to import an additional 80,000 tonnes of beef this year to meet consumer demands there.
This is due to a decline in UK beef production of 90,000 tonnes, or 13 per cent, because of the foot-and-mouth crisis.