The Irish Farmers' Association's (IFA) pig chair, Michael Caffrey has expressed his "deep disappointment" at the recent 4c/kg drop in pig price.

According to the IFA, the drop comes after two "unprecedented" drops of 10c/kg in the last two months.

Caffrey believes that farmers are "disillusioned and angry" about current pig prices, and that serious questions are being asked about the 'collective approach' between processors and farmers on the future of the industry.

The latest data from the IFA (August 27) found that the average price for grade E carcasses in week 33 (ending August 17) stood at 202.1c/kg, excluding VAT.

Caffrey said that this was "practically the same" as the previous week, and is also -0.7% behind prices in July 2025.

According to the IFA, the weekly throughput for week ending August 24 was 64,928 of which 1,717 were sows.

The IFA pig chair expressed concern about the "changing face of pig farm ownership", and questioned where the current pig price "leaves" family farms.

He said: "Processors should be paying a fair and sustainable price to producers, rather than engaging in tactics that undermine the industry. 

"With beef, lamb and chicken prices at an all time high, historical trends show that pork prices should be rising, not slipping backwards. 

"I am calling on factories to reverse this latest price cut immediately and to engage meaningfully with farmers to secure a fair and viable future for the sector," Caffrey added.

Separately, this week (September 1) a TD has raised concerns that the backlog in payments under the Agri Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) may result in farm families exceeding income thresholds to avail of grants for children starting third-level education.

According to Aontú TD for Mayo Paul Lawless, farm families receiving two year's worth of ACRES payments at around the same time this year may result in them missing out on grants under SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland).

Lawless referred to ACRES as a "bureaucratic blunder that's now snowballing into a crisis for rural families".

The TD said that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's failure to process payments on time means many farmers will now receive two year's worth of ACRES in a single calendar year.