40 cents/kg (15p/lb) off spring lamb prices

SHEEP farmers’ hopes for the trade this week have been shattered by the suddenness and scale of the decline in prices on offer for new season lambs.

Week on week, prices being quoted by factories are down as much as 40 cents/kg (15p/lb) for spring lambs. Producers with the older lambs are also suffering, but to a lesser extent — if that is any consolation — as hogget prices fall by 10 cents/kg.

At the marts, spring lamb prices have dropped by up to €20/head this week, while hogget prices held steady.