Kilkenny Mart manager George Candler has told Agriland that the trade for spring lambs has gone “belly up”.
Candler made these comments following the weekly sheep sale at the mart on Monday, July 8, where he said prices for lambs fell by €20-30/head in a week.
“It’s a big cultural shock when you see lambs that are reduce by €20/30 in a week, its a lot of money.
“It’s very hard if you’re getting €150 today, and last week you were seeing the same lamb get €175-180. It’s a difficult pill to swallow.
“Having had a chat with a few butchers and wholesalers, they said that its a commodity that’s slow to move,” Candler added.
Speaking to farmers at the mart, Candler explained that due to grass being “a scarce commodity” on farms, lambs are being supplemented with feed.
However, he said that farmers are “finding they’re feeding the lambs and they’re not getting a decent return for them”.
Commenting on the drop in prices from sheep processors in recent weeks, Candler described the factories as “ruthless” as he said “they don’t mind cutting it by 20,30,40c in a week.
“Surely the factories should realise they need producers, and they’re getting scarcer and scarcer and scarcer,” he added.
Sheep trade in Kilkenny
Candler commented that he is seeing “less and less” farmers in the sheep sector in Kilkenny.
“The younger farmer doesn’t seem to want to take it on board and the older farmer is getting older and he’s reducing numbers or getting out,” he explained.
The Kilkenny Mart manager said that he knows of five or six flocks around the county that would have had flocks of 150-200 breeding ewes which he said have now “gone out of the business.
“It’s a sad reflection and even when things were buoyant it would appear that it didn’t really encourage young lads to get involved.
In his mart report on Monday, Candler said: “The reason for the dramatic reduction in quotes is hard to fathom but it does nothing to encourage sheep farmers to remain in this diminishing sector of farming and is not a positive sign to encourage new entrance to get involved in sheep farming”.
Candler described the current trade for cast ewes as “amazing” and said that any sort of ewe with limited cover reached up to €200/head this week, and hit €220/head last week.
Average numbers of sheep at the weekly sales in Kilkenny are ranging from 200-400 head, peaking at 500 head, Candler said.