The Mart Managers of Ireland grouping has written to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, and to the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys, to highlight the “urgent need” for financial support for the mart sector.
The letter – sent this morning, Saturday, May 9 – details the significant impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on mart operations over the two busiest months of the mart calendar.
The communication – which represents the views of managers at 24 of the country’s marts – states the following:
Dear minister,
Since March, our organisation has been engaging with your colleagues Michael Sheehan and James O’Keeffe and I can only commend their enthusiasm and willingness to problem solve together.
This is in addition to the increased engagement that marts’ throughout the country are having with their SVI [Superintending Veterinary Inspector] within the DVO [District Veterinary Office].
Many of our members have given feedback saying that the DVOs are understanding and are working with marts during Covid-19.
My letter to you today, I hope, will allow you to get a real sense from mart managers of the challenges we face as we now look forward to a resumption of our marts – albeit under very different operating conditions.
I hope to be able to have an opportunity to further reinforce our remarks with your department in the not too distant future.
Like so many businesses throughout the country, livestock marts will have been closed for two months and possibly more during Covid-19.
Marts differ from most businesses in that our turnover mirrors very closely the farming cycle, in other words, we have spring and autumn times in the year when farmers do most of their purchases and selling.
For the remainder of the year (approximately six to seven months) marts are loss making.
Covid-19 has interrupted two of our busy spring months.
Public auction
Your department can update you with the status of all marts that trade under the agreed SOP during Covid-19. This will show you that the smaller marts conducted a handful of sales in the two month period – these marts simply found the SOP unworkable.
The larger marts have moved to online selling platforms which allows them to continue to trade.
The online options do require considerable financial investment and not all marts can afford this. Whether a mart is large or small in size, there is one common denominator – buyers and sellers both miss the auction ring.
The loss of the marts to the farming community and the vital role they play in facilitating a safe haven for farmers to trade their livestock, while securing the maximum price achievable, is huge.
For the most part, farmers have had to work without the livestock auction over the past two months.
We can now look back and say that the live trade within marts was clearly ‘taken for granted’ because its absence has been sorely missed during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Confidence among farmers has certainly suffered with the numbers of livestock presenting to marts dramatically reduced during the pandemic too.
The Department of Agriculture has facilitated us with figures for the last two weeks of April which show the numbers of cattle which were moved through marts.
This is not taking into account sheep numbers which are traded through the mart system and the busier weeks which marts where not operating before this and the weeks thereafter.
These potential commissions can never be recouped and these losses will be reflected in accounts towards the year end.
The effect of our businesses closing under Covid-19 has compounded the difficulties our industry has experienced over the past number of years including: the decline in suckler farmers throughout the country; insurance premiums hikes; commercial rates and upward revaluations.
Insurance
Regarding marts that paid for insurance cover for business interruption, these marts have had no clear, or concise, statement from the insurance companies, with regards to whether they will pay or won’t pay on business interruption for the time when marts have not been able to perform and maximise their full cash flows, thus leaving them in a very vulnerable position.
Covid-19 may potentially close some marts.
With all this in mind over the past month or two, mart mangers are now faced with the prospect of returning to sale yards with a lot less customers to purchase stock.
We will also be asked to keep sale numbers smaller and hold extra sales in order to keep numbers of people attending to a minimum creating more additional costs.
There are 82 marts throughout the country, all of which play a vital role to the farmers, communities and towns in which they are situated.
We cannot afford to lose any mart.
Financial support is needed immediately to help marts reopen their doors in phase two. Your Government has stressed and recognised the importance of marts to the farming community by including them in phase two of the re-opening of the country.
We request a meeting with yourself at your earliest convenience in the coming days to discuss urgent financial supports for marts to get us through the lean summer months and to continue to offer the vital service to the farming communities throughout the country.
I look forward to engaging with your department on this matter over the coming weeks on how best this can be achieved.
Go raibh maith agat,
Eimear McGuinness (chairperson)
Stay tuned to AgriLand for further developments…