In an effort to curtail the spread of COVID-19, the NI Livestock Auctioneers Association (NILAA) announced on Sunday evening that it would be suspending all mart sales for two weeks, starting on Monday of this week.

However, given government announcements since then instructing non-essential business to close, and people to maintain social distancing, it is generally accepted that the mart closure could be for an indefinite period.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, several mart managers said that closing was primarily to protect staff, many of whom have family employed in the health service, or in a vulnerable state of health.

Last week, marts tried to restrict those attending sales to buyers, sellers and hauliers, as well as providing hand washing facilities and trying to enforce social distancing.

But the consensus from NILAA members is that these measures were generally ignored by many attending sales, leaving mart managers with little choice but to suspend sales.

With marts now closed, cash flow will be an issue for many farmers over the coming weeks. While farm to farm sales are an option, farmers are reminded of the need to limit people calling onto farms, and in the short term, it could be viewed as non-essential business. There is also the issue of payment.

Most mart owners said that they will not provide weighing facilities while closed, and currently have no plans to act as guarantors of payment for livestock sold through farm to farm transactions.

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