Lower weight limits for factory spring lamb must be scrapped by processors, says the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA).

ICSA sheep chair Sean McNamara has called for payable kill-out weights for spring lamb to start from no lower than 22kg.

He warned that “for too long this underhanded tactic has been used by processors to penalise farmers and keep their payments to a minimum”.

“There is simply no justification for it and especially so given the current situation,” he said.

Difference

McNamara said: “The difference between getting paid for 22kg as opposed to 19kg is upwards of €20 per head. Those additional kilos of lamb are perfectly saleable for the factories. They do sell it on and make 100% profit on it off the backs of low-income sheep farmers in the process.”

He highlighted the “very expensive and labour-intensive operation” involved in producing spring lamb.

He said sheep farmers have been “working around the clock” to produce spring lamb for the busy Easter market and warned that they “cannot afford to give valuable kilos of lamb away for nothing”.

Costs

The Westmeath sheep farmer said: “It has never been more important to support our primary producers. Our costs have risen significantly and the factories will only add to these pressures if they introduce weight limits of 19kg in the coming weeks.

“They have an obligation to support their local suppliers in these tough times and all we are asking is that they pay out for 22kg of spring lamb instead of taking a portion of it for free.”

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