Meat factories have come out in support of a demand by sheep farmers for a premium of €15 per ewe to implement a major rejuvenation plan for the sheep sector.
The Irish Farmers' Association and the other farm organisations have been seeking incentive payments to cover the cost of better breeding programmes, technical efficiency, animal health and welfare.
Better breeding stock lies at the heart of the Malone report published last year aimed at increasing the output from the country's 35,000 flocks and driving its output value from the current €300 million to €350 million.
The Government, which commissioned the former secretary general of the Department of Agriculture and Food, John Malone, to compile the report, has promised to invest €30 million in the sector.
Yesterday, Meat Industry Ireland (MII), the Ibec group that represents the sheep processing industry, supported the call by producers for Government assistance towards a producer payment to assist the roll-out and implementation of the Sheep Industry Development Strategy at farm level.
Its director, Cormac Healy, said that while major progress had already been made, a vital aspect of the success of the plan would be the engagement at farm level involving a renewed focus on breeding programmes, improving enterprise performance and making gains technically.
The IFA's national sheep committee chairman, Henry Burns, said the implementation of the Malone recommendations at farm level was critically dependent on a positive announcement from Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan, with incentive payments for both lowland and hill sheep producers.