Sheep farmers cannot bear savage price cuts and must be paid an adequate price for their produce, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Association (ICSA) sheep chair Seán McNamara has said.
Speaking following a meeting with senior management at ICM Camolin, McNamara said that a “robust” discussion took place. The meeting followed an ICSA protest at the site last week due to sharp falls in sheep prices in recent weeks.
“Last week we were here to protest, and these officials witnessed at first-hand the anger among sheep farmers.
“We came here today to reinforce the message that sheep farmers cannot bear these savage price cuts and must be paid an adequate price for their produce, end of story.
“To that end, the ICSA has insisted there can be absolutely no more price cuts in the short to medium term. The ICSA also received an assurance from the factory that full electronic reading will be in place from Tuesday morning next, 4 June, which will ensure accurate printouts of lambs killed for farmers,” McNamara said.
Protest
On Monday of last week, the ICSA held a protest outside the plant in Camolin over price cuts of over €20 on spring lambs.
ICSA farmers prevented sheep from entering the plant. Speaking at the protest, McNamara said if price cuts continue, most sheep farmers will not be able to stay going.
"Our produce has been rendered virtually worthless; we might as well be giving it away for free,” he said.
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Sheep farmers cannot bear savage price cuts and must be paid an adequate price for their produce, the Irish Cattle and Sheep Association (ICSA) sheep chair Seán McNamara has said.
Speaking following a meeting with senior management at ICM Camolin, McNamara said that a “robust” discussion took place. The meeting followed an ICSA protest at the site last week due to sharp falls in sheep prices in recent weeks.
“Last week we were here to protest, and these officials witnessed at first-hand the anger among sheep farmers.
“We came here today to reinforce the message that sheep farmers cannot bear these savage price cuts and must be paid an adequate price for their produce, end of story.
“To that end, the ICSA has insisted there can be absolutely no more price cuts in the short to medium term. The ICSA also received an assurance from the factory that full electronic reading will be in place from Tuesday morning next, 4 June, which will ensure accurate printouts of lambs killed for farmers,” McNamara said.
Protest
On Monday of last week, the ICSA held a protest outside the plant in Camolin over price cuts of over €20 on spring lambs.
ICSA farmers prevented sheep from entering the plant. Speaking at the protest, McNamara said if price cuts continue, most sheep farmers will not be able to stay going.
"Our produce has been rendered virtually worthless; we might as well be giving it away for free,” he said.
Read more
Farmers and factories clash on lamb prices
Three-man race for ICSA president
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