Latest news with #SeanMcNamara
Agriland
19-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Sheep trade: 50c/kg cut sees hoggets fall below beef price
This week's sheep trade has seen factories move to reduce hogget price by as much as 50c/kg in some cases, while cull ewe prices have remained firm at all sites and spring lamb price held at some sites and fell at others. The move sees factories quoting 'all-in' prices of €8/kg for hoggets and, according to president of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) Sean McNamara, 'is the first time in living memory that hogget price has fallen below beef price'. McNamara said: 'Hoggets were at €9.00/kg around this time last year and are now at €8.00/kg for this week. 'There's over €8.00/kg all-in prices to be got for some cattle this week and it's the first time I've ever seen hoggets fall below beef price.' The Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha is approaching on Friday, June 6, and many farmers had expected price rises in the sheep trade in advance of this, which has failed to materialise to date. This week, Irish Country Meats (ICM) is quoting €9.00/kg plus a 20c/kg Quality Assurance (QA) bonus for spring lambs, leaving €9.20/kg on offer here again this week up to 21kg carcass-weight. The Navan, Co. Meath and Camolin, Co. Wexford-based outlet is quoting €7.80/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus for hoggets, leaving €8.00/kg on offer. This price is back 50c/kg from last week. ICM is quoting €5.50/kg for cull ewes again this week. Kepak is quoting €8.85/kg plus a 15c/kg QA bonus for spring lambs up to 21kg carcass-weight, leaving €9.00/kg on offer here. This price is down €10c/kg from its quote last Monday. The Athleague, Co. Roscommon site is quoting €7.85/kg plus a 15c/kg QA bonus for hoggets up to 23kg carcass-weight, leaving €8.00/kg on offer here. This price is down 30c/kg from last week. Kepak is quoting €5.50-5.60/kg for cull ewes again this week. Kildare Chilling has no official quotes for this week. Ballon Meats in Co. Carlow is quoting €5.60/kg for cull ewes and €8.20/kg for hoggets.
Agriland
16-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Commission ‘must be stopped from dismantling' CAP budget
An Irish farm organisation has said that the European Commission 'must be stopped from dismantling' the budget for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) was responding to apparent plans from the European Commission to scrap the standalone budget for CAP as part of wider efforts to consolidate its various funding streams. The commission is understood to be planning a radical overhaul of the EU budget – the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) – as part of which the commission is planning to merge its various funding programmes into a smaller number of funds, which would be allocated all together to member states. This could not only see the merging of funding for both pillars of CAP, but potentially also the end of ringfenced funding for CAP, farm organisations have warned. Sean McNamara, the ICSA president, said: 'Agriculture cannot be sacrificed to pay for other EU priorities like defence and security. Food security cannot be taken for granted. Our farmers are on the frontline, and they must be supported, not sidelined. He added: 'This is potentially the most dangerous threat to the CAP in a generation. Food security is just as vital as defence, and frontline food producers must not be left footing the bill for every other EU priority.' 'The commission appear to be hellbent on dismantling the CAP, but a strong, separate CAP budget is the bare minimum we need. It must also be increased to reflect rising costs and restore its value which has been more than halved by inflation' he said. 'ICSA also wants to see dedicated and separate funding for environmental measures.' McNamara said he is also alarmed by the commission's plans to publish its vision for the post-2027 CAP at the same time as the EU's new MFF. Both proposals are expected to be put forward in July. 'There has been no engagement with farmers on what the next CAP should look like. It makes no sense to bring out major plans for the future of CAP without talking to farmers first. Doing it alongside the EU budget also feels very premature,' he said. 'Farmers everywhere will be rightly worried that the future of EU agriculture is being shaped behind closed doors in Brussels without the people who will be most affected having any real say. That is not acceptable, and it raises serious questions,' the ICSA president added. McNamara called on Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon and the government to 'strongly oppose' any move to merge the CAP budget into a general EU fund. 'It is vital that Minister Heydon leads the charge with other EU agriculture ministers to ensure agriculture is not sidelined. CAP must remain committed to its three core objectives: a fair income for farmers; food security for Europeans; and sustaining the economic and social fabric of rural areas,' he said. 'Separate, ringfenced, and increased CAP funding must remain non-negotiable. Anything less would be a betrayal,' the farm leader remarked.
Agriland
16-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
‘Complete confusion' remains on farm fertiliser allowances
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has been called on to provide more clarity to farmers on the amount of chemical fertiliser they are allowed to spread and the amount of slurry, if any, they are allowed to import. The calls come as the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) president Sean McNamara has said there remains 'complete confusion amongst many farmers' relating to the amount of chemical fertiliser they are allowed to apply and the amount of slurry they are allowed to import. The ICSA president said that while the DAFM does inform farmers of their nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) statements, there remains a significant level of confusion amongst farmers on the ground. He said: 'DAFM should be making it clear to farmers every month what fertiliser farmers can or can't spread.' 'There's nothing simple any more about it. It needs to be simplified and made more straightforward so that farmers can easily understand it.' McNamara said that many farmers have 'no confidence' in buying fertiliser to spread on their land because many are unsure what they can or can not spread as they are unaware of their farms' chemical N or P allowances. He said: 'A lot of farmers are opting not to buy fertiliser because they don't know what they can spread and don't want to be caught in the wrong. 'It is very difficult for an ordinary suckler or beef farmer or part-time farmer to work out what they can spread. Agri-advisers have also told Agriland that working out the N and P allowances for farmers can be challenging and takes time. Advisers recommend farmers to have Nutrient Management Plans (NMPs) for their farm detailing fertiliser-spreading plans for the year and slurry management plans. However, advisers acknowledged that this comes at a cost to farmers and that many private agri-advisers do not have sufficient time to do up these plans for farmers. Another agri-adviser told Agriland: 'There is a myriad of detail to be taken into account to calculate how much fertiliser a farmer can spread. 'For their N allowance, we need to know their stocking rate and the amount of ground they have in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), and for P allowances, we need to know their soil sample results, amount of meal fed, and a list of other details. 'It's very complicated stuff and the rules and N values for livestock and N allowances for lower-stocked farms have changed this year, making it more tricky for some farmers.' This sentiment has also been echoed by the Irish Farmers' Association's (IFA's) livestock committee chairperson Declan Hanrahan, who told Agriland: 'The demands being put on small-scale and extensive farms in relation to fertiliser and meal usage are complex and proving difficult to access. 'These obligations should never have been applied to these lower-stocked, extensive farms and must be simplified.' Hanrahan also added that the IFA had previously highlighted that the requirements for small-scale and lower-stocked farms to use low emission slurry spreading (LESS) equipment is 'not viable or necessary'. Hanrahan said: 'DAFM would have sent out through text that farmers can go online to check their allowance on the nitrogen per hectare, and they would have sent out another text message in relation to feeding of the 14% protein concentrates between April and September.' The maximum crude protein content allowed in concentrates fed to cattle aged two years and over at grass between April 15 and September 30 has been reduced from 15% to 14%. This requirement now applies to all farmers. The IFA Livestock Committee chair said that farmers are going through their advisor to identify the exact amounts of N and P they are allowed to spread, which he said 'is another cost onto the farmers'. Stay tuned to Agriland over the weekend for technical advice on assisting farmers in calculating their stocking rate and advice to assist farmers in identifying the maximum N and P allowances on their farms.
Agriland
06-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Sheep trade: Up to €6.00/kg available for cull ewes
One of the main talking points of the current sheep trade is the strong prices available for cull ewes with 'up to €6/kg being paid to farmers for cull ewes', according to the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) president, Sean McNamara. The ICSA president told Agriland that up to €9.40/kg is available for spring lambs this week and up to €8.90/kg is being paid for hoggets this week. McNamara said that the equivalent of these prices are being paid in some cases for fat ewes at marts, while some of the smaller sheep processors are paying these rates for cull ewes. Sheep trade: Factory price offers While the official factory quotes for spring lambs remained unchanged this week, both hogget and cull ewe price quotes increased at some outlets. This week, Irish Country Meats (ICM) is quoting €9.00/kg plus a 20c/kg Quality Assurance (QA) bonus for spring lambs, leaving €9.20/kg on offer here – up to 21kg carcass weight. The Navan, Co. Meath and Camolin, Co. Wexford-based processor is quoting €8.50/kg plus a 20c/kg QA bonus for hoggets – leaving €8.70/kg on offer here up to 23kg carcass weight. ICM is quoting €5.50/kg for cull ewes this week. Kepak is quoting €9.20/kg for QA spring lambs and €8.70/kg for hoggets up to 21kg and 23kg carcass weight respectively. The Athleague, Co. Roscommon site is quoting €5.50-€5.60/kg for cull ewes. Kildare Chilling has no quote for spring lambs or hoggets this week but said that heavy hoggets over 25kg carcass weight will be paid at a top price of €190/head. The processor is quoting €5.60/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus for cull ewes with carcass weights from 35-43kg, leaving €5.70/kg on offer here. Cull ewes weighing from 25-35kg carcass weight are being quoted at €5.50/kg plus a 10c/kg QA bonus, leaving €5.60/kg available here. Ballon Meats in Co. Carlow has no quote for spring lambs but is quoting €8.80/kg for hoggets up to 23kg and €5.60/kg for cull ewes up to 41kg.
Agriland
02-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Call for MEPs to nail colours to the mast over Mercosur
The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) is calling on Ireland's MEPs and the government to outline a clear position on the proposal for an EU trade deal with the Mercosur countries of South America. The controversial trade agreement would allow an additional 99,000t of beef enter the EU tariff-free from Mercosur countries Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia. The political agreement will open up the EU market to goods from Mercosur, but limits imports from those countries of 'sensitive agricultural products' such as beef, ethanol, pork, honey, sugar and poultry. ICSA president Sean McNamara wants declarations from both Irish MEPs and the government regarding their position on the proposed EU-Mercosur trade deal. 'Vague political statements are no longer good enough. We are tired of hearing that people 'don't support the deal in its current form' without any explanation of what changes would make it acceptable,' McNamara said. 'That kind of language is meaningless to Irish farmers whose livelihoods are on the line if this deal goes ahead. 'We want to know exactly what changes would satisfy our elected representatives, and how far they are willing to go to defend Irish farmers,' he said. ICSA president, Sean McNamara The ICSA has this week written to every Irish MEP seeking clear answers on their position. The letter asks MEPs to confirm whether they support or oppose the deal as it stands, and what (if any) amendments would make it acceptable to them in future. 'There is a lot of confusion following a recent European Parliament vote on a report containing amendments linked to the Mercosur agreement, and farmers are rightly questioning where our representatives actually stand,' McNamara continued. 'Are they willing to draw a line in the sand – or will they roll over if cosmetic tweaks are made?' McNamara has claimed that there is also a 'worrying' lack of urgency and resolve from the government on this issue. 'What we need are cast-iron guarantees that Ireland will not support this deal – now or in the future – and that our government is actively working to build a blocking minority in Brussels,' he continued. 'Anything less is just not good enough. It is time for every Irish MEP and government TD to provide clear, accountable answers to the farming communities they represent.'
