National Farm Survey 2005

INTRODUCTION

The objectives of the National Farm Survey (NFS) are to

1. determine the financial situation on Irish farms by measuring the level of gross output, costs, income, investment and in debtedness across the spectrum of farming systems and sizes,
2. to provide data on Irish farm output, costs and incomes to the EU Commission in Brussels (FADN),
3. measure the current levels of, and variation in, farm performance for use as standards for farm management purposes, and
4. provide a database for economic and rural development research and policy analysis.

To achieve these objectives, a farm accounts book is recorded for each year on a random sample of farms, selected by the CSO, throughout the country.

The National Farm Survey is designed to collect and analyse information relating to farming activities as its primary objective. Information and data relating to other activities by the household are considered secondary and as such where this information is presented it should be interpreted with caution.

For 2005 there are 1177 farms included in the analysis, representing 111,115 farms nationally. Additional details on the 2005 estimated farm population distribution and the sample numbers and their representation by size and system are contained in Appendix B.

Farms falling into the Pigs/Poultry System are not included in the sample, due to the inability to obtain a representative sample of this system.