Farmers praised for keeping show on road
IN the spirit of community co-operation that symbolised the efforts made by all in recent days in the face of the Siberian snow, I detected amongst sheep factory bosses a distinct softening in tone in relation to the farming community.
“It’s not simple on farmers trying to keep the show on the road, and we do appreciate the huge efforts they have made in trying to keep us supplied with sheep” was the comment from one procurement manager. “The farming community showed great community spirit in clearing roads and giving assistance where and when they could” was the comment from another. Has this goodwill translated itself into higher prices?
The short answer is yes. I had quotes from ICSA yesterday that €5.70-5.80/kg had been offered for hoggets, while IFA’s Sean Dennehy upped the ante claiming that “€5.85/kg was offered for suitable lamb”. On the factory side, Kildare Chilling upped their quote for hogget by 10c/kg to €5.50+10c/kg quality bonus, while Moyvalley Meats whacked on 30c/kg, leaving them at the head of our table on a straight €5.60/kg.
Also offering extra were the two ICM plants, both raising their quotes 10c/kg to €5.40/ kg plus bonuses of 10c/kg. Also lifting their price yesterday by 10c/kg to €5.40+5c/kg bonus was Dawn Ballyhaunis.
Kepak Athleague, who were the strongest payers last week at €5.45+5c/kg bonuses, slip be- hind Moyvalley and Kildare this week as they leave their hogget price unchanged. It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for the factories, including Kepak Athleague, as they dealt with the fallout of the move on the clean sheep policy. Kepak Athleague remained closed yesterday as management took the decision that sheep numbers would be restricted because of poor road conditions. They were also closed on Friday. Today, however, I’m told the plant will be fully functional.
Cull ewes
The cull ewe trade, which has seen little in price rises despite hogget prices pushing on, sees just one plant, Kildare Chilling, lift their ewe price, up by 10c/kg to €3.00+10c/kg bonus. This puts them above Kepak Athleague, who were the first to break out of the cycle of weekon-week repetitive prices for cull ewes last week when they to lifted their price by 10c/kg to a straight €3.00/kg, a price they maintain this week.
In short, factories admit numbers are tight and an extra few cents can be found to entice more stock. Some factory buyers did wonder if some sellers were just playing hardball. For the moment, however, even the most hardened factory man will admit that a lot of farmers have their hands full trying to insure their stock are safe while attempting to fix numerous frost-broken fittings, rather than trying to play silly buggers on price.