Farmer writes: renewed optimism in sheep this spring

I attended the Irish Grassland Association sheep conference and walk on Tuesday and returned home with renewed optimism that you can get grass to grow in a spring like this.

My take-home message was that paddocks and soil fertility are essential for the improvement of any sheep enterprise. It was a fantastic day and I would encourage any sheep farmer to attend further conferences and farm walks if they can.

Last Thursday, we had our annual producer group review and preview with the manager of Irish Country Meats (ICM), Navan. The group has been going here for over 20 years and we feel we have a good working relationship with ICM.

I know the processors get a bad rap, but I must say I cannot fault ICM for being open and honest with us. And I can assure you we were frank with them too. For any business to succeed, you need to work hand in hand with the people who are marketing your lamb on your behalf, which is not a job I would wish to be in at present.

We need to nurture this market and as farmers do our very best to deliver a quality product, so that when every consumer puts it in their shopping basket and finishes their meal, they will say: “I’d love another bit of that.”

For anyone who wants to eat a “green product”, lamb has to be up there at the top of the list. After all, Bord Bia with its Origin Green campaign wants us to believe everything is reared in a green field – and lamb certainly is. It eats grass and little else; antibiotic and drug usage is minimal in the sheep industry; it is an extensively reared protein product; and its meat is lean and healthy.

Yet let no one be under any illusion: we are rearing and selling a product that is being eaten less and less, not just in Ireland but across Europe, which is where we send most of our lamb.

Consumption

Consumption is down 14% in France this year, and 8% in Belgium. Offal prices, which were covering the cost of processing, are on the floor. So are sheep skin prices: ewe skins which were worth €3 now trade at 25c, and lamb skins have fallen from a high of €10 to €2.

This year, ICM is sending reps and marketing specialists to countries they have never been to before to try to sell lamb for us. You may loathe processors, but remember it is not in their interest to be selling less and less lamb at declining prices either.

The reality is that lamb as a protein source is expensive and out of the reach of many consumers – and always will be. It is a niche product of the utmost quality, which has a loyal following.

We need to nurture this market and as farmers do our very best to deliver a quality product, so that when every consumer puts it in their shopping basket and finishes their meal they will say: “I’d love another bit of that.”

Don’t be afraid to go and talk to your processor and ask them what they want. Even more important now is when they want it. We must work together as a sheep industry.

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