Certified Irish Angus is a sustainable beef breed, farmed with pride using traditional methods by small-scale family farms.

Sustainable Family Farms

Certified Irish Angus animals are reared in small herds by small-scale farming families where there is a deep, historical passion for farming and for the farmland. This land, which is passed down through generations, is deeply respected and embedded in the history of these families.

Our members aspire to pass on both the tradition of farming, and all the respect and resources of the land, to the next generation in a manner that will serve their family and their communities into the future.

Sustainable Breed

Native to Ireland for more than 100 years, Irish Angus cattle have always been reared on a simple grass-based diet, ideal for small family farms. Angus cattle today continue to enjoy a diet that is made up almost exclusively of grass which offers a reduced environmental impact due to the availability of home-grown feed.

The Angus breed also naturally matures early which results in fewer carbon emissions produced from each animal compared with other breeds. Certified Irish Angus continues to invest in and promote improved genetics ensuring that the Angus breed remains strong while producing even more efficient animals for our members.

Sustainable Farming Practises

Certified Irish Angus cattle graze on grass which is grown on carbon sequestering soils. As many of our members have farmed on grassland pastures for generations, which have not been disturbed by ploughing and tilling, the carbon is deep rooted in the soil. We recognise that as beef farmers we need to go even further to cut our carbon emissions and so, we encourage our members to adapt some or all of the initiatives listed below:

  • Planting trees
    A combination of trees and preserved grassland pastures can take 10 times more carbon out of the atmosphere and back into the soil than grass alone. When planted in pasture, they also provide shade and shelter for grazing animals
  • Maintain Boglands
    In addition to their biodiversity value, boglands are very important ‘carbon sinks’ which act like large sponges in helping to protect our land from flooding. We encourage our members not to drain boglands in order to allow them to perform this function effectively.
  • Keep Bees
    Over one third of the food we eat relies on pollination by bees, either directly or indirectly. To help counteract the decline of the all-important native pollinators, we support our members in installing beehives containing only Irish-bred bees on their farms.
  • Hedgerows
    We encourage our members to manage hedgerows in a manner that supports biodiversity to attract wildlife and pollinators and provide an environment where wildflowers flourish and wildlife such as pheasants and other wild birds can protect their young.

Sustainable Farming Practises

Certified Irish Angus cattle graze on grass which is grown on carbon sequestering soils. As many of our members have farmed on grassland pastures for generations, which have not been disturbed by ploughing and tilling, the carbon is deep rooted in the soil. We recognise that as beef farmers we need to go even further to cut our carbon emissions and so, we encourage our members to adapt some or all of the initiatives listed below:

  • Planting trees
    A combination of trees and preserved grassland pastures can take 10 times more carbon out of the atmosphere and back into the soil than grass alone. When planted in pasture, they also provide shade and shelter for grazing animals
  • Hedgerows
    We encourage our members to manage hedgerows in a manner that supports biodiversity to attract wildlife and pollinators and provide an environment where wildflowers flourish and wildlife such as pheasants and other wild birds can protect their young.
  • Maintain Boglands
    In addition to their biodiversity value, boglands are very important ‘carbon sinks’ which act like large sponges in helping to protect our land from flooding. We encourage our members not to drain boglands in order to allow them to perform this function effectively.
  • Keep Bees
    Over one third of the food we eat relies on pollination by bees, either directly or indirectly. To help counteract the decline of the all-important native pollinators, we support our members in installing beehives containing only Irish-bred bees on their farms.

Sustainable Credentials

All Certified Irish Angus Beef is Bord Bia Quality Assured under the Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS) which involves minimising the amount of resources such as energy, feed, water etc. used while enhancing the environmental performance of the farm.

Our processor partners are Bord Bia Origin Green certified, which is the world’s first sustainable food and drink production programme. These measures ensure that at every stage in the process, our Certified Irish Angus beef is produced in a less impactful and more sustainable way.