Sheep farmers ‘lose £29 on every lamb’

Official figures show that lamb prices at their lowest for three years, all against the backdrop of rising production costs, brought about in part by the extreme weather in 2012.

Impacts from the new lamb-deforming disease Schmallenberg are also being felt with the spring lamb season about to get underway.

And while cases of the disease have been mercifully few in the region, the spectre of the illness continues to provide concern for many in the sector.

The National Farmers Union is now calling for retailers to demonstrate genuine commitment to their British suppliers and customers after a 22 per cent fall in the farm gate lamb price, despite an increase in price on the supermarket shelves.

NFU livestock board chairman Charles Sercombe said: “Farmers are working hard to stay on top of a really tough situation but we are now faced with really challenging conditions on the world market while seeing a considerable reduction in the price that our own retailers pay.

“This isn’t helped by more imported cheaper lamb products on supermarket shelves.

“What puzzles me is that prices to consumers have increased. Demand from consumers has also remained strong, so what’s happening? Where is the money going?

“I want to see a thriving British lamb sector, crucial if we are to attract young people to work in our industry, so retailers have to start working more closely with their British lamb supply base to help meet some of the challenges being faced.

“And we need our customers – the consumer – to reap some of the benefit too.”

With the EU promising to agree a CAP reform package in the coming months the NFU also stressed the importance of ensuring a fair deal to support English farmers.

“As CAP reform discussions continue we cannot ignore the fact that many sheep farmers are currently struggling to make ends meet in this new market-driven environment,” said Mr Sercombe.

“Direct payments to farmers are currently a vital lifeline; the only way we can ride out the volatility of world markets. If this goes many sheep farmers and their families face a very uncertain future indeed.”

The figure of £29 is based on farmers selling at current published prices against the average published cost of production for 2011/2012 and lambs at the midpoint of the weight range.

The farm price lost 10 per cent of its value in the last quarter of the year.

At the same time, the average retail price of lamb has remained largely unchanged.

The drive for higher prices is similar to that attempted by the pig industry before Christmas which is facing diminished gate prices and higher overheads too.

Sheep farming is one of the cornerstones of rural life in upland areas such as the Yorkshire Dales.

Scanning urged to assess health

Scanning ewes at around halfway through pregnancy is extremely important as it enables producers to manage feed and assess the “health” of a sheep enterprise, according to EBLEX, the livestock industry body.

Scanned ewes can be separated according to feed requirement, which can reduce the total feed bill and help avoid metabolic problems.

Producers are also urged to give some thought to using scanning to deal with barren ewes. Culling could be the only option, though ewe lambs may be an exception.