“It’s been a good year for sheep farmers but not for all of them.” That’s according to Sean McNamara, the sheep chairperson of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA).
Sean said that hill sheep farmers still need more supports and that the good prices that have been seen for sheep this past 12 months have benefitted farmers operating a lowland sheep enterprise more so rather than a hill enterprise.
Although, in saying that, Sean believes it was time that sheep farmers received good prices for their lambs and that it was sustained right throughout the year rather than at certain periods – when it “suited factories”.
In a wide-ranging interview with AgriLand, Sean reflected on the sheep sector in Ireland in 2020 and how it compared to 2019.
He said: “It has been a positive year for the sheep sector overall and next year I’d be hoping it will be even more positive again.
Lamb prices have been strong throughout 2020 which has been great to see, but we can’t forget about the terrible year it has been for wool. Farmers were literally paying to get rid of it. It was as good as worthless.
“In saying that, there have been years where both lamb and wool prices have both been poor, so at least we saw a consistently strong price for lambs throughout 2020.
“I’d be optimistic and hopeful that 2021 will be an even more positive year for the sheep sector here in Ireland.”
Hill farmers
Sean believes those operating a hill system still require more supports and that even though lamb prices were stronger in 2020, hill farmers didn’t quite get much more for their lambs than any other year.
He added: “The only thing I’d be saying about the hill farmers is a lot of their stores still only sold at €60-70/head – like they aren’t making any fortune at that kind of money.
They wouldn’t be getting a great crop of lambs. I still think they need more help. There should be higher rates given to hill farmers under the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme and the Sheep Welfare Scheme (SWS).
“The way I look at it, it’s costing €100 to produce a lowland lamb and about €120 for a hill lamb – because you’re getting fewer lambs from the hill ewes. The hill-bred lambs are harder to finish as well. Even though lamb prices have been good, when you get into the nuts and bolts of it, there isn’t an awful lot of money to be made from sheep still – especially for those operating a hill enterprise.
“The average industrial wage is €40,000, so for a farmer to make that he would need to produce 2,000 lambs – which isn’t viable for the majority of sheep farmers – so it’s very much still a poor sector in Ireland. Many sheep farmers are now part-time as well and working full-time off-farm to stay afloat and make a living.
Going back to the hill farmers, there is still a lot of them getting €40-60/head for their lambs. People will tell you about the good store lamb price but, in reality, not all farmers are getting those good prices.
“There’s a big difference between the lowland and hill farmer and what they are getting for their lambs respectively. That’s why I feel hill farmers need more support.
“Overall, though it’s been a positive year. There’s no getting away from that and long may it continue.”
‘Good year to be in sheep’
Sean said it’s been a good year for sheep but that it was about time sheep farmers got rewarded with good prices consistently.
He said: “I averaged about €107-108/head for my lambs this year in the factory. I sent all my lambs to the factory bar a few nice ewe lambs that I got around €130/head for in the mart.
If I was to compare what I got for my lambs this year in comparison to 2019, it would be well back. I’d say I was averaging about €92-93/head for my lambs last year.
“So, there’s about €10/head in the difference between this year and last year. That’s huge, especially if you are producing a lot of lambs. It adds up to quite a bit,” Sean concluded.
