In a statement on Wednesday, Brooks said that factories have not taken into account the increased production costs for producers with ewes lambing in winter to have lambs born 14 weeks before the Easter holidays.

“The spring lamb sector needs a minimum of €7.00/kg to make it viable. The process requires a lot of forward planning,” he said.

Quotes from factories this week for spring lambs are at a base of €6.00/kg.

“We need to see farmers getting an adequate return on investment in order to sustain early lamb production,” Brooks said.

The Roscommon man added that prices quoted for hoggets this week of €5.20/kg up to 23kg is significantly lower than in recent years.

“This week in 2016, farmers were getting €5.80/kg up to 24kg and in 2015 it was €6.10/kg up to 24kg. Farmers are being hammered on price and weight. The figures speak for themselves,” he said.

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