27 APRIL 2018
ICSA sheep chairman John Brooks has called on the Department of Agriculture to allow flexibility with the Sheep Welfare Scheme where farmers have to go below their reference number between now and September. Mr Brooks said, “Fodder and cashflow difficulties have come together this year and many sheep farmers have been placed in a catch 22 situation in that if they sell stock they risk defaulting on the terms of the scheme.”
Continuing Mr Brooks said, “ICSA has always been of the belief that normal trading practices were being curtailed by the scheme. We believe that farmers should be allowed to sell cull and unproductive ewes in line with normal trade at this time of the year and bring their numbers back up by September. This would make sense in any year, but particularly this year when fodder supplies are not there and cashflow is a big issue.”
“Flexibility of up to 20% would be required to buffer sheep farmers. This would remove the unrealistic requirement to hold onto unproductive ewes and allow them to trade normally. It would also remove the risk of a ewe tsunami and depressed prices towards the end of the year.”
ENDS
