True scale of sheep losses revealed

Published on Monday 7 January 2008 19:31

ALL the UK farming organisations have made it clear for many months that they intend to pursue the government for compensation for the full losses incurred as a result of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in August and early September of 2007.

Jim McLaren, president of NFU Scotland, put the case in Whitehall to Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, and was told that the Treasury door remained open, but the industry would have to come up with hard facts to make a persuasive case.

In recent weeks NFUS has held a series of meetings with industry stakeholders including auctioneers, road transport companies and the meat trade.

The sheep sector undoubtedly suffered most, with many sales having to be postponed.

In Scotland the devolved administration introduced a welfare cull with a flat rate payment of 15 per head for small lambs. In addition the Scottish Government has paid out 6 on every single ewe.

That assistance has been welcomed, but falls short of the full extent of the losses suffered.

The Meat and Livestock Commission has just published statistics that reveal the true scale of the financial hardship suffered by sheep farmers.

Draft hill ewes, the animals that are sold after four crops of lambs on the hills for further breeding in more favourable locations, averaged 26.41 – down by 22 per cent on the year. Upland draft ewes suffered a decline of 25 per cent to return at 39.76 per head. Ewe lambs off the hills fell by 19 per cent to average 29.14, while shearling ewes slid by 21 per cent to 46.54 per head.

It was the store lamb trade, which normally sees huge numbers sold on to arable and dairy farmers for fattening throughout the winter months, that was hit hardest of all. Store lambs from the hills fell by 26 per cent to just 17.72 while stores from upland farms declined by 29 per cent to just 23.74 per head. These prices are broadly similar to what producers were receiving in the mid-1980s.

The trade in lambs fit for the butcher and supermarkets has recovered slightly over the last ten days, but with averages through the markets still below 100p per kg, it remains lower than 12 months ago by some margin.

An added factor in the depressed sheep trade was the loss of the export market following the imposition of movement restrictions. The official figures for January to October 2007 reveal that exports fell from the previous year's total of 70,745 tonnes to just 52,230 tonnes.

The ban was lifted some weeks ago but the market has remained relatively flat.There are hopes that this could shortly improve, with lamb stocks on mainland Europe all but exhausted.

But the real bonus is that, with sterling having slipped to the extent that one euro is now worth 74.5p, British lamb is now highly competitive.