Ireland: ICSA urges sheep farmers to attend a crisis meeting

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has urged sheep farmers to attend a meeting tonight (Tuesday, March 21) focused on the crisis in the sector. The issues impacting sheep farmers, including high input costs coupled with low prices, will be addressed in The Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim from 8:00p.m. The ICSA is currently campaigning for a €50 million rescue package for the sheep sector to be funded through the Brexit Reserve Fund (BAR) under which Ireland was allocated a total of €1 billion. ICSA Speaking ahead of tonight’s meeting, ICSA Sheep Committee chair Sean McNamara said: Advertisement “The value of sheepmeat exports increased by 17% to total €476 million during 2022 but individual sheep farmers cannot make a viable living. “Their profits certainly haven’t gone up by 17%, in fact they have gone down by 81% to a margin of €7/ewe, all while the cost of production has risen significantly. “The processors and the retailers might be making ...