Strong lamb prices ‘essential’

IFA National Sheep chairman Sean Dennehy said strong lamb prices are essential to profitability, and the factories need to act in a responsible manner and stabilise the market in the current conditions.

He said sheep farmers should consider all options to avoid selling under-finished lambs, including meal feeding. “Tighter supplies, strong market demand, increased promotions on the domestic market, earlier and increased Muslim festival demand, along with store buying should all help underpin the market,” he said

The IFA sheep farmer leader said, having secured €25m in funding for the €10 per ewe Sheep Welfare Scheme in 2017, IFA is pushing for an additional €5 per ewe environmental payment under the RDP. This will be a key issues for IFA’s Budget 2019 lobbying and would provide a critical income boost for both lowland and hill sheep farmers.