Drop in Irish ewe flock this year could be as high as 9% - Bord Bia
The drop in the Irish breeding ewe flock this year could be as high as 9%, which is significantly higher that the previously estimated figure of 3.5%, according to Bord Bia.
This is according to Bord Bia's sheep meat and livestock sector manager Seamus McMenamin, who made the comments while peaking at the Dawn Meats Future Flocks event in Athlone, Co. Westmeath, last night (Tuesday, November 25).
McMenamin said: "I suppose as the year has gone on, everyone has come to realise that maybe that 3.5% [forecasted drop in the Irish ewe flock this year] is a bit of an underestimation.
"We're realistically looking at probably at 7%, 8% or 9% drop in the [Irish] ewe flock."
McMenamin told the farmers attending the Dawn Meats event aimed at supporting young sheep farmers that: "About 400,000 less sheep have been processed in Ireland this year. That's about 19-20% of a drop.
"A number of things have fed into that. We had a significant drop in hogget carryover from the previous year that dipped supply in the first half of the year.
"We then seen about a 60-70,000 head drop in the number of sheep "coming down from Northern Ireland."
McMenamin explained that "sheep can go from Northern Ireland to Great Britain and maintain their Red Tractor status".
He said: "It's an attractive option for them to be shipped that way at the minute and get a premium in that market."
Ewe flock
He also attributed the fall in sheep kill numbers to the domestic fall in the ewe flock as well as the conversion to organics which he said "a bit of an impact on the productivity of the flock as a whole".
McMenamin also said that this autumn, "a lot more store lambs have been kept in the country", which he attributed to the strong cattle prices resulting in some farmers keeping extra sheep instead of cattle.
The event saw Dawn Meats sheep suppliers from across the country attend the information evening.
There were also interesting presentations on the night from other speakers, including: Seamus Fagan from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) animal laboratories; Natascha Munier from Animal Health Ireland (AHI); as well as Sarah Higgins and TJ. Duffy from MSD Animal Health.
