Recent attempts by factories to drop lamb prices at a critical time for the sector have prompted IFA Sheep Chairman Kevin Comiskey to highlight the lack of meaningful, direct support from them as well as the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue.
“The Minister has not yet come forward with a targeted payment for sheep farmers to support the orderly feeding and finishing of lambs, which is certainly contributing to the increase in numbers of under-finished lambs presented to factories,” he said.
The sheep factories are not without blame. “Their failure to provide strong and meaningful prices to farmers [to motivate] the orderly finishing of lambs, while continuing to import live lambs and carcass lamb, is also a critical factor.”
Comiskey called on the Minister again to respond urgently with targeted payments to sheep farmers to offset the increased production costs on farms and ensure confidence is restored to the sector. He also called on factories to stand firm in the marketplace, to reflect the strength of the French market in prices offered to farmers and to give minimum price guarantees for the coming months.
“Farmers should sell hard, while being conscious of lower kill-out weights and under-fleshed lambs, to take back control of the supply-demand balance and maximise returns.”