Beef farmers caught up in the dioxin contamination scare could face financial ruin if thousands of their animals have to be culled, it was claimed last night.

The Ulster Farmers’ Union said the bill for destroying more than 7,000 cattle, now banned from the food chain, could exceed £5m.

Some of Northern Ireland’s biggest farms were among the eight that received contaminated biscuit meal from a supplier in Co Carlow last December.

High levels of the dangerous cancer-causing dioxin were discovered in the feed which was distributed around the country.

The cause of the contamination is still under investigation and all of the affected herds are still under restriction.

Yesterday, the Food Standards Agency said it was refusing to allow any cattle from affected farms onto the meat market.

The grim news comes as beleaguered farmers prepare to hold an emergency meeting at Stormont to discuss the current industry crisis.

Officials from the Department of Agriculture called the meeting to explore possibilities for compensation.

Last night Joe McDonald of the Ulster Farmers Union, said beef farmers felt like they were in “limbo”.

“This is what has emerged over the Christmas and New Year period. It is nothing new for the farming industry who have known about the possible cull since then.

“If we are talking about 7,000 animals then the bill could easily be about £5m or more. We don’t know the exact value of every animal but if they were mature and ready for the food chain then we are talking at least £4m or £5m.

“The department is holding a meeting with farmers affected and every aspect of this crisis and the compensation will have to be discussed.

“If the farmers have been inadvertently caught up in the food contamination crisis then we feel that they should not be left facing financial ruin.

“Until now the focus for the Department has been on containing the problem and getting the industry back to normal and they have done that.

“These eight farmers have been through a dramatic ordeal. They are feeding cattle every day and they don’t know if they will ever be allowed into the food chain.”

Co Armagh farmer Joe Cassidy, whose herds are still under restriction, said farmers were confused about the situation. He called for the Executive to resolve compensation issues.

“I wish they would get this sorted. Can we kill cattle in the factory or do we cull or cattle or what is going on?” he told the BBC.

Yesterday Michelle Gildernew said she was continuing to press the authorities in the Republic to allow Northern Irish farmers and businesses affected by the scare access to the Exceptional Support Measures Scheme.