“I’d advise farmers to go to the mart with their heavy lambs instead of the factory for sure.” That’s the advice from Sean McNamara, the sheep chairperson of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA).
AgriLand spoke to Sean earlier this week to get his views on the factory and mart trade at present.
Here’s what he had to say: “In terms of the factory trade at the moment, lamb numbers are very tight. Prices are strong currently and I’d expect them to go up again.
Prices of €5.40/kg are easily achievable at the moment, with some getting €5.45-5.50/kg. Factories haven’t got the lambs and that’s why we are seeing the lift in prices.
“If I was to make a prediction I’d say it will [the sheep trade] remain positive over the coming weeks because the lambs are just not there. A lot of farmers have their lambs gone. You have to remember a lot of farmers drafted lambs earlier in the year than they normally would have done.
“There’s no excuse for factories to even think about pulling prices over the coming weeks. Obviously, a lot of farmers are buying store lambs at the moment but they won’t be ready for a while and from what I’m hearing there isn’t a huge number of finished lambs around.
Heavy lamb numbers are tight at marts. Butchers are very active [more than usual] at marts lately and well-fleshed lambs are making €120-128/head.
“I’d be advising farmers to go to their mart [with heavy lambs] if they have any ready to go; it’s the place for them with the way prices are at the moment.”
Store lamb trade
Touching on the store lamb trade, Sean described it as “serious”. He added: “It’s been a great year for stores. At the minute, forward stores are making up on €100/head.
“Again, if you have stores I wouldn’t be waiting around with them,” McNamara concluded.