Ireland: Factories reveal the opening price for spring lamb

This week’s sheep trade sees the first factories announce their opening prices for spring lamb, with hogget quotes increasing by a further 10c/kg and ewe price edging up 10c/kg at some sites also. With just two weeks to go until Easter Sunday, the number of spring lambs slaughtered to date this year is still very low. However, supplies will begin to pick up over the coming few weeks. Many flocks that were traditionally lambing earlier in the year in an effort to have finished lambs available in time for Easter have delayed their lambing this season due to increasing costs, and it will be interesting to see how supplies of lamb this season compares to supply from previous years. Spring lamb Kildare Chilling has opened prices for spring lamb at €7.40/kg plus a 10c/kg Quality Assurance (QA) bonus, bringing its total offering to €7.50/kg. Kildare Chilling is paying farmers up to 19kg carcass weight, while Irish Country Meats (ICM) and other outlets are paying up to 20.5kg carcass ...