Stronger lamb prices are needed now and going forward if input prices see no change, with a tonne of meal now working out at over €500.
This was what Kevin Comiskey, the sheep chair of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), said to Agriland during its livestream of the National Ploughing Championships on Tuesday (September 20).
Speaking about factory prices now and into the back end of the year, Comiskey said: “Prices are in and around hovering what they were this time last year.
“It’s the only commodity that has seen the price stay static where it was this time last year while other commodities have moved on.
“Input prices are a huge concern. Coming into the next five or six months, if meal prices stay the same, you’re looking at meal being over €500/t to feed lambs for finishing.
“Farmers need support and that support is needed in the form of stronger prices for the prime product they are producing.
“The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue also has a role to play in this,” Comiskey said.
He added: “Farmers can’t just rely on factory prices and this is where more is needed from the government to support key systems.
“Targeted support payments are needed, for example, for those buying in store lambs this time of the year as grass is scarce in areas and the price of meal the way it is.
“You just have to look at the breeding ewe trade to see how low the confidence in the sector is – where there is a huge dip in demand for breeding sheep and this being reflected in the trade.
Comiskey remarked: “I bought a few hoggets myself last week and with the prices some were making, you can’t see how any sort of a return on those sheep could have been made.”