Big increase in sheep prices

THEY say that history rarely repeats exactly, but Irish sheep producers can prove that belief wrong, much to their economic benefit as prices for lambs rocket in the wake of the new outbreak of FMD in Britain.

The only noticeable changes from the experience of sheep farmers compared with the previous outbreak in Britain has been the more immediate price rise, and an even greater lift than before with returns in excess of 70c/kg within a few days.

At the factories the trend has continued this week. With the official quotes for base prices rising to 400c/kg (143p/lb) on Friday another 10c/kg (4p/lb) was on offer by Tuesday morning, and on the ground the general run of buying prices was around 10-15c/kg (4p-6p/lb) above the quotes.