I got a call from a farmer who was in the unfortunate position of having to make a call to his local fallen animal collection service.

He had lost a ewe and needed the knackery to remove the dead animal. The farmer himself nearly died when he was presented with the bill – €100 to remove a single dead ewe. I know rendering prices haven’t fallen and there are restrictions on where knackeries can bring dead animals, but €100 for a single ewe is certainly extreme.

I had also heard that another collection service charged in the region of €75 to collect a 250kg weanling.

Bert Stewart from the IFA said he wants Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney to step in to make sure that farmers are not getting charged over the top for dead animal collections.