Teagasc Publishes Farm Income Figures For 2004
Media Information – 5th September 2005
Farm incomes rose on average by 5.4 per cent in 2004, the Teagasc National Farm Survey reveals. Average family farm income was €15,557 per farm, compared with €14,765 in 2003.
However, the survey shows that income on full-time farms increased by almost eight per cent in 2004. A total of 43,000 farms are classified as full-time and they earned an average income of €30,650 in 2004, compared with €28,467 in 2003.
In 2004, 10 per cent, or a total of 11,300 of farms, had an income from farming in excess of €40,000. Three out of four of these farms were involved in dairy farming.
The increase of 5.4 per cent in average incomes resulted from an increase of four per cent in gross output combined with a 0.4 per cent increase in direct payments. Direct and overhead costs increased by one per cent and five per cent, respectively.
Commenting on the results, Liam Connolly, Head of the Teagasc National Farm Survey team, says the 2004 figures highlight the enormous variation in farm incomes, which creates major difficulties in using one overall average figure to represent the sector.
“The 2004 results again show two distinct groups in Irish agriculture. The first group are small, part-time farms engaged in extensive beef and sheep production, yielding low profit margins and highly dependent on direct payments and off-farm employment.
“In 2004, almost 40 per cent of farms earned an average income of less than €6,500. On 92 per cent of these farms, the farmer and/or spouse had some other source of income.
“The second group are the more dynamic full-time farms, which represent the commercial or viable sector of Irish agriculture and are mainly involved in dairy and tillage farming. In 2004, these full-time farms accounted for just 38 per cent of all farms (or 43,000) and had an average farm income of €30,650,” he adds.
Other key findings of the survey include
- Dairy farms still yield the highest returns
- Direct payments comprised on average 87 per cent of family farm income
- Overall, on 78 per cent of farms, the farmer and/or spouse had some other source of income
- In two regions – North-West and Louth and the Western regions – family farm incomes were below the national average.
The survey is based on an analysis of accounts kept on a representative sample of 1,194 farms selected by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The total number of farms represented in 2004 was 113,261. Very small farms are excluded from the survey, as are pig and poultry farms.
Farm Systems
As in previous years, dairy farming generated the highest returns, with an average income of €34,421, an increase of 17 per cent on 2003. Income from tillage farming averaged €24,012, a decline of three per cent on 2003.
Incomes from sheep farming declined by 16 per cent, to an average of €10,966. The four previous years showed increases in sheep farming incomes. Beef farming again generated the lowest average incomes. Incomes from beef rearing systems increased by two per cent, to an average of €7,286 while income from other beef systems increased by 10 per cent, to an average of €8,712.
Direct Payments
Direct payments showed a minimal increase of 0.4 per cent in 2004 to an average of €13,549 per farm. As a percentage of farm income, direct payments were 87 per cent of family farm incomes (FFI) in 2004 (90 per cent in 2003).
Direct payments as a percentage of farm income ranged from 31 per cent on specialist dairy farms to 137 per cent on sheep farms and 164 per cent on farms with other beef systems. Therefore, on beef and sheep farms market returns were not sufficient to cover production costs. As in previous years, the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) made a sizeable contribution to incomes on both beef and sheep farms; almost 74 per cent of farms which participate in REPS are in the three drystock systems. On REPS cattle farms, income was higher than on non-REPS cattle farms, with the REPS payment contributing up to 75 per cent of the difference in FFI.
Off-Farm Income
The survey shows that on 52 per cent of all farms, the farmer and/or spouse had an off-farm job, compared with 48 per cent and 50 per cent in the years 2002 and 2003, respectively. On 36 per cent of farms, the farmer held the off-farm job with the highest incidence of off-farm employment occurring in the drystock systems. Overall, on 78 per cent of farms the farmer and/or the spouse had some other source of income resulting in only 20 per cent of farms being dependent on farming solely for their livelihood.
Regional Analysis
There is quite an amount of variability between FFI in the eight regions, ranging from €9,378 in Region 1 (North-West and Louth) to €24,643 in Region 6 (South-East). Only two of the regions, Regions 1 and 8 (Western), have FFI below the national average of €15,557. The highest incidence of off-farm employment occurred on farms in the Western region, where the incidence of off-farm jobs for the farmer and/or spouse was 55.2 per cent compared with the national average of 51.5 per cent. Some 75 per cent of households were classified as demographically viable in Region 6 while it was only 52 per cent in Region 1.
Contribution of Women
For the second year, the 2004 Teagasc survey contains information on the contribution of women to labour on the farm. It shows that, on average, women contribute 12 per cent to total labour input in farming ranging from five per cent on tillage farms to 14 per cent on dairy farms.
ENDS
Issued on behalf of Teagasc by
Larry O’Loughlin, A/Head, Public Relations Department, Teagasc,
Tel: 059 918 3408; 087 256 2434; Email: loloughlin@hq.teagasc.ie
