Unseasonal boom for farmers as factories desperately seek stock
FACTORIES are desperately attempting to locate stock this week and this has resulted in huge prices being paid to farmers, according to Livestock Price Coordinator for the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA), John Cleary.
"It's quite remarkably the extent to which factories are going to fill their quotas this week. The week between Christmas and New Year is traditionally a slow trading period but all the form books are out the window this week from what we are being told," Mr Cleary said.
In spec heifers are trading best of all with quotes of well over €4/kg being made. Base prices for steers and bulls are also trading around the €4/kg mark which Mr Cleary described as fantastic news for farmers.
"It's unlikely that these prices will continue well into January but they should maintain for the next week or two so it would be advisable for farmers in the county to make the most of factories being seriously short of stock at the minute. The word on the ground is that factories are pulling out all the stops to get stock on to the floor so this is great news for Kerry farmers," he said.
