Bleak Future for Sheep Farmers

There is more bad news for sheep farmers as experts predict a rapidly declining sector, as the industry struggles to find it's feet again after the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001.

This event saw the culling of every sheep, lamb, and goat, from the Cooley area, and mountains, and many will remember the jokes doing the rounds, as a number of sheep farmers were later discovered engaging in astonishing 'creative accountancy' as they produced tally figures of stock they owned, when compensation was being paid.

However the numbers leaving the poorly performing, sheep industry continues to rise at an alarming rate, in a year which has seen low lamb prices early on, followed by discouraging prices for wool.(See Archives July)

Moral is said to be at an all time low, with little or no return on investment, and many are abandoning the business, despite having no alternative plan, such is the age profile of the sheep farmer. For many it's a case of looking for alternative employment, while the younger generation see no encouragement to enter the industry.

At sheep sales around the country, the lowest ram sales in years are being recorded, and since this is the barometer for the following breeding season, it is being seen as an alarming situation.

Many are critical of the Department of Agriculture for not taking heed of an industry in crisis.