The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has announced that it will hold a protest next week to highlight the income crisis in the sheep sector.
The demonstration is set to take place in Roscommon town on Monday morning (February 13).
Farmers who wish to join the protest are being asked to assemble outside Roscommon mart at 10:30a.m.
IFA President Tim Cullinan said that the latest price cuts have angered sheep farmers who are “grappling with very severe input costs”.
“The margins on sheep farms have been trimmed to the bone, having fallen by 81% to just €7/ewe, which includes the Sheep Welfare Scheme (SWS) payment.
“Factories cannot expect producers to keep going on this margin,” he said.
Cullinan said that the situation facing sheep farmers is now at a critical juncture and needs an immediate response from the government.
IFA protest
The IFA said that it has lobbied Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue to provide “targeted support of €30/ewe to sheep farmers”.
IFA Sheep Committee chair Kevin Comiskey said the frustration among farmers at a recent meeting in Co. Galway was “plain for all to see”.
He said the challenges facing the sector were pointed out to the minister last spring, but no action was taken.
“Sheep farmers paid a heavy price with incomes effectively wiped out, dropping by over 80% to €7/ewe through a combination of input cost increases and market failures.
“We are now facing into a similar, or even more challenging year, and the government must clearly set out what support is there for the sector,” Comiskey said.