As seen in recent weeks, prices in the sheep trade have steadied from factories, as they have once again held firm their quotes.
Those following the sheep trade will note that Kildare Chilling has offered quotes for spring lambs and cull ewes this week, but only for Monday (September 18).
An important upcoming date for Irish sheep farmers is that the payments from the Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) for cleared cases are to commence from November 20.
Farmers were reminded of this date by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Maine (DAFM) last week, in a letter informing them of the “key payment dates” in 2023.
Spring lambs
This week, Irish Country Meats (ICM) is offering €6.00/kg plus a 20c quality assurance (QA) bonus, bringing its offering to €6.20/kg up to a 22kg carcass weight for spring lamb – the same price as last week.
Other outlets have offered €6.05/kg plus a QA bonus of 15c/kg, a total of €6.20/kg for spring lamb.
Absent from the sheep trade for some time, Kildare Chilling has offered farmers a quote for Monday only (September 18), which will pay farmers €6.20/kg plus a 10c QA bonus up to 22kg for spring lambs. It is the same base price that they offered exactly a year ago.
This outlet is warning farmers not to bring spring lambs that are under 17kg, and is encouraging well-fleshed lambs.
Cull ewes
ICM has maintained its offer of €2.80/kg for a cull ewe up to a 45kg carcass weight, while other outlets have offered €2.60/kg for a cull ewe.
Kildare Chilling has offered farmers a quote for Monday only for ewes, the price differing depending on the weight of the ewe.
The outlet is offering €2.60/kg plus a 10c QA bonus for ewes from 23kg to 35kg.
For ewes between 35kg to 43kg, Kildare Chilling is today offering farmers €2.90/kg plus a 10c QA bonus.