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Sheep farmers need to receive at least €5.50/kg to cover costs, according to Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) sheep chair Sean McNamara.
McNamara said despite recent increases in price, the figures did not “stack up” for sheep farmers.
“At the end of a bad year, processors need to get real and pay a fair price. We can’t keep going producing at below the cost of production,” he said.
McNamara believed the demand for animal protein in China as a result of a shortage of pigmeat meant there was scope to increase sheep prices in the short term and into 2020.
Support
Increasing the level of support provided to sheep farmers through the Sheep Welfare Scheme was also suggested by McNamara.
“The scheme needs to be extended beyond next year and must deliver a significantly higher payment. Higher rates of payment can be facilitated through a bolt-on mechanism to the scheme, which would see sheep farmers rewarded for undertaking additional tasks.”
He said the precedent had been set through the introduction of the BEEP scheme as an addition to the BDGP scheme for suckler farmers.
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