DEAR SIR: The collapse in lamb market over the last three weeks has knocked over €20 a lamb off prices. This is a major blow to incomes on sheep farms this year and comes on top of a bad 2013, where Teagasc figures show that incomes were down 39%.

The price has fallen by over €1/kg in just three weeks. Sheep farmers cannot endure this type of price collapse. The factories say it’s the market and the big increase in lamb supplies. However, over this period, the kill went from 60,000 in the last week in June to 63,000 in the first week in July, no big increase in supplies.

The factories say the British and French market fell. Of course their prices fell when we raced ahead of the market with cheaper lamb day after day and week after week. This type of race to the bottom on prices is destroying farm incomes and driving sheep farmers out of business. It’s not sustainable and retailers and factories will have to change their approach. Sheep farmers can’t produce lambs at a loss or be expected to subsidise the factories and retailers out of their direct payments.

On top of the price cuts, sheep farmers have also been hit with cutbacks to their direct payments through REPS and Disadvantaged Area and the Grassland Sheep Scheme in CAP.

The Minister for Agriculture promised sheep farmers in Athlone earlier this year he would sort out this grassland problem. We are still waiting for a positive response from the Minister.