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ICSA president calls for blanket ban on meat imports from outside the EU

Last week, Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association president Dermot Kelleher called on the government to insist on a complete blanket ban at EU level on meat imports from outside the EU, given the stress farmers have been put under in recent weeks. “Farmers have been made to feel that the high quality, high protein, nutritious food they supply to European markets is now something to be ashamed of. The…

Lamb prices have steadied at €7.50 to €7.60/kg

Lower numbers of spring lambs and demand for the Eid al-Adha festival on 9 July, 2022, has underpinned the trade, with lamb prices steady at €7.50 to €7.60/kg in general, according to IFA Sheep committee chairman Kevin Comiskey. Cull ewes are making up to €4.30/kg. He said exporters are also competing strongly for ram lambs and finding it difficult to get the numbers they want. Also, it is important that…

Beef imported from Poland crushing local farmers – ICSA

ICSA beef chair Edmund Graham has called on the meat factories to come clean on how much beef is imported from Poland and why this is happening. “ICSA has received multiple reports about large volumes of beef arriving from Poland. It is arriving both in carcass form and boxed – some of it is processed further but it’s all then being shipped on to supply various markets at the expense…

ACRES agri-scheme falls short on rewards, says ICSA

ICSA rural development chair, Tim Farrell, has commented that the new ACRES agri-environment scheme still leaves farmers baffled as to how it will reward those who want to go the extra mile for environmental objectives. He said: “There is a definitive lack of ambition to reward farmers. There doesn’t seem to be much innovation in what has been announced to convince farmers that this is a worthwhile improvement on GLAS.” “Instead,…

Call for much higher suckler supports valid, says ICSA

Jimmy Cosgrave, ICSA suckler chairman, has commented that the recent Teagasc National Farm Survey 2021 results indicate that ICSA’s call for substantially higher suckler supports is entirely valid. “Minister McConalogue has made a major mistake in not including a coupled payment for suckler farmers in the CAP strategic plan. This is all the more evident when we see that in 2021, dairy farms made nine times more income than suckler farms,”…

Call for The Wool Feasibility Study to be published

The Wool Feasibility Study is still under review, and ICSA Sheep chair Sean McNamara is calling for the immediate publication of the report. This is as “anger grows among sheep farmers due to ridiculously low wool prices in Ireland.” Mr McNamara comments that while wool prices are struggling internationally, Irish wool prices are particularly bad. “Farmers in the North and Great Britain have received 36.4p/kg STG (42c/kg) for wool for…

ICSA to host Farm Debt Solutions webinar

A webinar focusing on Farm Debt Solutions will be presented by ICSA, in association with FPM Accountants. This will take place on the evening of Wednesday, 15 June, 2022 at 8pm. The free event has been designed to help those in the farming community who are struggling with unmanageable debt or mortgage arrears. It will feature prominent insolvency practitioner Gary Digney from accounting firm FPM. Dermot Kelleher, ICSA president, commented on the…

ICSA meat industry price analysis a wake-up call

ICSA has based its recent call on the meat industry to negotiate viable prices with customers for winter finishers on results of an analysis they say is “a big wake-up call. We see dairy farmers getting well in excess of 50c/l for low-cost summer milk…” And they’re motivating for EUR 7.50/kg based on the assumption that ration is EUR 500/ton. “These figures are based on examining Teagasc models but also…

ICSA calls for viable price for winter finishers

Edmund Graham, the ICSA Beef chair, has called on the meat industry to negotiate viable prices with their customers to deliver at least EUR 7.50/kg for beef for winter finishers. “ICSA is putting retailers and processors on notice that the escalation of costs means that anything less will be a complete loss-making venture, on the assumption that ration is around EUR 500/ton.” “ICSA has been analysing figures for winter finishing…

ICSA pitches a tillage scheme for catch crops production

ICSA Tillage chair Gavin Carberry has called on the government to deliver a scheme for tillage farmers to grow catch crops after this year’s harvest. “A similar scheme was run in 2018 whereby tillage farmers were incentivized to produce additional feed during the autumn months. It is vital that we start preparing now for the winter ahead and given the concerns around the cost and availability of meal such an…

Cost of regular beef exceeds organic cuts, says ICSA

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) claims that regular beef cost more than certified organic beef this week. What’s more, they state that a premium of at least EUR 1/kg is necessary to incentivise farmers to convert to organic cattle farming. That’s because organic farming has lower output. “This week, we have seen the prices paid for conventional cattle exceeding those paid for organic cattle,” said ICSA organics…

Crisis is bigger than Brexit for cattle, sheep, and suckler farms

Rocketing farm costs are now a bigger threat than Brexit, the Irish Cattle & Sheep Farmer’s Association (ICSA) has said. Speaking after a National Fodder and Food Security committee meeting ICSA beef chairman Edmund Graham made it clear that in his view, the cattle and sheep sectors are most at risk. He added said the bleak future facing drystock farmers is not being taken seriously by both Minister McConalogue and…

ICSA beef chair calls for €6/kg

ICSA beef chair Edmund Graham has commented that if beef farmers in Germany are achieving €6/kg for beef, there is no reason for Irish farmers not to get the same. “ICSA has been warning for months that beef prices must hit the €6/kg mark if farmers are to have any hope of coping with seriously inflated input costs. €5/kg is no cause for celebration when it doesn’t cover your cost…

forecasts for net margins on beef, suckler, sheep farms

Farm sectors impacted differently by current cost escalation, report shows

It appears that cost escalation is not evenly affecting all farm sectors in Ireland. Following a review of Teagasc’s update to its Situation and Outlook for Irish Agriculture 2022 report, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) has noted that dairy farm incomes are estimated to be 10 to 15 times greater than those earned by cattle and sheep farmers in 2022. ICSA president Dermot Kelleher has called on…

VAT exemption should be considered for LESS equipment says ICSA

“Low-emission slurry spreading equipment (LESS) has become a huge part of our climate action strategy but the cost of putting it in place is just too great for most,” this is comes as the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association says that there should be a VAT exemption on LESS equipment. The VAT price for a standard 2,500-gallon spreader is upwards of €10,000 and ICSA president Dermot Kelleher says that…

Rural communities have been sidelined in EU vision, says ICSA

Rural communities are feared to have been placed in a precarious position as there has not been much focus on developing sufficient strategies to improve general conditions. A recent meeting between the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has highlighted the need for the reassessment of the EU vision for Irish agriculture. In a meeting held between Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture,…