Speaking at the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers’ Association (INHFA) national annual general meeting (AGM) held in Sligo last week, the national vice president Brendan Joyce announced the opening of a light lamb market titled ‘Atlantic Hill Lamb’.
This market will see 400 lambs a week killed at Kepak Athleague – destined for markets in Italy and Norway.
He informed the attending farmers that the INHFA will host a number of meetings to inform farmers: how they can supply to this market; the type of lamb that is required; the pricing structure involved; what feeding is required; and how it is intended to develop and expand this market.
The schedule for these meetings is as follows:
- Tuesday, June 19 – Blue Haven, Kilcar, Co. Donegal;
- Wednesday, June 20 – Alice’s Hotel, Achill Sound, Co. Mayo;
- Thursday, June 21 – Cawleys Hotel, Tubbercurry, Co. Sligo.
All meetings will start at 8:30pm. More venues will be announced in the coming week.
Market details
Joyce explained: “The market which we will start supplying to in early August is for light lamb carcass between 10 and 15kg with a minimum O2-grade that will deliver a price of €5/kg.
Ensuring all lambs have the correct fat cover will be essential in ensuring the market prospers, as previous attempts at supplying these markets failed because lambs didn’t meet the specifications required.
He concluded by thanking both Kepak Group and Bord Bia for their work in helping to develop the market and expressed optimism that it can be expanded beyond the planned 20,000 lambs.