Good week

  • There was good news for sheep farmers this week, with hogget and spring lamb prices running up to €1/kg higher than last year’s levels.

  • Under the Sustainable Upland Agri-environmental Scheme (SUAS), commonage farmers in Wicklow will be paid €14.50/hour for work they do on the uplands.
  • The Minister for Business Heather Humphreys has committed to treat the review of permit criteria for farm workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) as a matter of urgency.
  • It was a good week for Mark Shorten and Conor Lehane from St Brogan’s College in Bandon, Co Cork, who took home the top prize from the 2018 Certified Irish Angus Beef Schools competition.

    • Bad week

  • It was a week to forget for dairy farmers, as processors announced milk price cuts for February supplies of milk.
  • Weather continues to cause problems for calf exporters and this week it was sea swell – with swells running over 4m on part of the route to Cherbourg.
  • Met Éireann has confirmed that grass growth and ground conditions have experienced a significant setback due to extreme bad weather.
  • It was a bad week for Greencore, as shares plunged to a four-year low of £1.20 in London on Wednesday.

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