Last Friday saw Northern Ireland’s agriculture minister, Edwin Poots, agree a £1.27 million Covid-19 support package for the sheep industry as wool prices have dropped dramatically.
It is widely anticipated that the money will be allocated in ways that will compensate the wool sector for the total collapse in market returns witnessed over the past 12 months.
The reality is that the wool industry in the Republic of Ireland has faced the exact same challenges.
Stories of wool being dumped in hedgerows and slurry tanks were commonplace last year.
Not all sheep farmers are equal
I am fully aware that the sheep industry, in a general sense, has been boosted by exceptionally high lamb prices over recent months. But the people directly benefitting from these returns were those finishing lambs.
Flock owners in hill areas will always be well down the pecking order when it comes to them experiencing the ‘feel good’ impact of better lamb prices. What’s more, these producers still have to bear the additional costs of clipping sheep.
Last year all of those ‘wool-related’ activities represented a direct and significant cost to their businesses.
Wool prices
Unlike food, the prospect for wool prices over the next few months looks exceptionally poor. The vast bulk of the wool produced in Ireland goes for carpet production.
With the building / refurbishment sector on hold – not just here but around the world – it may take a further 12 months before wool demand starts to pick up in any significant way.
So how can the Irish government recognise the needs of the wool industry?
Putting in place some form of direct support mechanism won’t work for lots of reasons.
Sheep industry
In my opinion, the only viable alternative is to boost the money available for the Sheep Welfare Scheme and include the costs of clipping sheep within the measure.
Clipping ewes and lambs can be viewed, first and foremost, as a welfare matter. If animals are not shorn, then the risk of fly strike rises accordingly.
Most sheep producers get a contractor to shear their sheep, so it should be feasible for them to have a receipt at hand to confirm that the sheep were actually clipped.
This can then be submitted to secure the aforementioned Sheep Welfare Scheme support.
No doubt all of the relevant farming organisations can make a case for government to cover all shearing costs incurred during 2020 and 2021.
Such a move will in no way make up for the drop in wool prices incurred over the past 12 months and more, however, it will ensure that wool does not become a cost burden for sheep producers, particularly in hill areas.