As we march on into the second half of May, the sight of sheep being shorn across the country will begin to increase.
However, this year, unlike previous years, the price farmers will get for their wool doesn’t look good at all.
In saying that, the prices farmers have been receiving for wool for the last few years have been bad.
Between the cost of getting someone to come in and shear a flock of sheep, and the price merchants were offering for the wool, it resulted in farmers just about breaking even or, in many cases, making a loss.
Although they don’t know what they will be able to offer just yet until markets start to reopen, they say the outlook doesn’t look good as a result of Covid-19.
If we take the rough quote of 20c/kg that is being muted for lowland wool and take into account the cost of shearing, farmers could be looking at having to subsidise the majority, if not all, of their shearing costs for 2020.
Shearing quotes are ranging from €2.00/head to €3.00/head, with the majority of shearers quoting, on average, €2.50/head. The price will depend on the number of sheep that have to be shorn.
If we were to take, for example, a typical 100-ewe lowland flock, at a wool price of 20c/kg and a shearing cost of €2.50/head, this would leave farmers with a wool value of €50 and a shearing cost of €250.
In essence, farmers would be looking at making a loss of €200. The outlook for hill flock farmers is even bleaker if wool prices, that are being hinted at now, become a reality.
The message from wool merchants to farmers is to hold onto their wool for as long as they can until markets start to open again and a more concrete answer can be given in terms of a price they will be able to offer for it.