Top-quality spring lamb deserves higher price from factories: ICSA
Mr Brady has called upon processors to recognise the quality of new lamb coming onto the market. Tight supplies are helping to keep hogget prices up, but new lamb is not attracting any additional spend by factory buyers, he said.
“The fact that hoggets and new lambs are being quoted at or near the same price fails to take into account spring lamb as a top-quality premium product which consumers are willing to pay extra for,” he said.
“Once again we are looking at a situation where sheep farmers are clearly not getting a fair price for their produce and ICSA is saying to the factories that this is simply unacceptable.”
He said he has real concerns that farmers will see no real benefit to their hard work with early lambing and trying to intensively finish lamb early for Easter, at a much higher cost of production. “If the factories fail to recognise the added value of spring lamb, then there is a real risk that this system of farming could be lost altogether.”
